FIFA Ballon D'Or Candidate in 2010

Will Lionel Messi retain his crown? Will Xavi be recognised as the world's best for his midfield exploits? Or will the quiet genius Andres Iniesta be rewarded for his World Cup-winning strike? We'll find out on Monday 10 January (today)

Andres INIESTA
Club:  FC Barcelona
Country:  Spain
Position: Midfielder
Defining moment of 2010: Scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final on July 11

Ballon d'Or Last Year: Fourth place with 149 points - a personal best.

FIFA Award Last Year: Fifth place with 190 points, behind Kaka, Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

2010 Lowdown: World Cup winner, La Liga winner, Spanish Super Cup winner; FIFA World Cup All-Star Team placement.

2010 Story: A player who grows more consistent year on year, Iniesta defied fitness worries to once again wow the world in 2010. His World Cup-winning goal was just a small part of a superb tournament, and his play in the blue and red of Barcelona was, while punctuated by rest periods, a joy to watch. The fact that he so often came off the bench to make a difference is testament to how much his teammates need him.

Lionel MESSI

Club: FC Barcelona
Country:  Argentina
Position: Forward
Defining moment of 2010: Scoring all four as the Blaugrana battered Arsenal 4-1 on April 6

Ballon d'Or Last Year: Won the award for the first time with 473 points, over double that of second-placed Cristiano Ronaldo.

FIFA Award Last Year: First place with 1073 points, a record total for any player and over three times the total of second-placed Cristiano Ronaldo on 352.

2010 Lowdown: La Liga winner, Spanish Super Cup winner; La Liga Player of the Year; La Liga top goalscorer; European Golden Shoe winner; Champions League top goalscorer; Argentine Footballer of the Year.

2010 Story: In La Liga, Messi has spent the last twelve months scoring a goal a game, and setting up a goodly amount, too: in the 5-0 rout at the Clasico he showed that even when he's not hitting the net he's helping others to do so. At 23 his natural genius is becoming more tempered by maturity, and the results are there for all to see. Certainly the most exciting of goalscorers...

XAVI

Club:  FC Barcelona
Country:  Spain
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 25 January 1980 (age 30)
Defining moment of 2010: Setting up both goals in the decisive 2-0 win at the Bernabeu on April 10

Ballon d'Or Last Year: Third place with 170 points for Xavi's best-ever finish.

FIFA Award Last Year: Third place with a total of 196 points, up from 155 the previous year.

2010 Lowdown: World Cup winner, La Liga winner, Spanish Super Cup winner; FIFA World Cup All-Star Team placement, Premi Catalunya de l'Esport award.

2010 Story: Last year's third-ranked player enjoyed an awesome but exhausting 2010 in which his passing was once again marked out as the world's most accurate and most likely to result in goals for his club side. At international level he was the heart of Spain, playing more vital a supporting role than even Iniesta, completing over 500 passes in South Africa.

source: goal.com

Goal.com’s KS Leong looks at whether Barca’s Three Musketeers are worthy to be crowned the best players of 2010.

Ballon D'or Award

It was announced on Monday that Barcelona trio Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi have been nominated as the top three candidates for the FIFA Ballon d’Or, as voted by coaches and captains of national teams and a panel of global journalists.

Although this is the first year that FIFA’s World Player of the Award award has merged with France Football’s Ballon d’Or, it is the third time that three players from the same club will finish as the best three footballers of the year after the great Milan side of the late 80’s completely dominated proceedings in the 1988 and 1989 editions of the Ballon d’Or.

But as always, there will be debates and contentious arguments regarding the finalists. Many believe that Inter and Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder should have been in the top three at the very least, and even perhaps a worthy winner.

Diego Forlan single-handedly carried Atletico Madrid to Europa League glory last season, and he did likewise with Uruguay in South Africa 2010, leading his country to a respectable fourth-place finish at the World Cup with some spectacular goals.

Then there’s Iker Casillas and Julio Cesar, two goalkeepers who performed miracles for club and country throughout 2010. But should any of those four, or any of the others for that matter, in the initial 23-man shortlist who deserve to be in the final three more than Iniesta, Messi and Xavi?

Iniesta’s inclusion will perhaps draw the most mixed reception. The attacking midfielder spent the first half of 2010 nursing a niggling injury and as a result, his performances were below his usual high standards. But the extra rests that he picked up along the way turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he has become the only star player who featured in the final of the World Cup to carry his form into the new league season.

Lionel Messi failed to carry Argentina far into the World Cup, but his form for Barcelona has been simply sublime in the whole of the calendar year: 54 goals in 47 club games in 2010 up until the final three shortlist was announced, including six hat-tricks. If the Ballon d’Or is part recognition and reward for consistency, then Little Leo deserves to retain the gong he won last year.

Since finishing second in the 2008 edition, Messi’s level has not dropped one bit. If anything, he has been steadily improving, not just in his goal ratio, but his all-round performance. And that doesn’t include the mesmerizing exhibitions and masterclasses that he puts on every time he steps onto the pitch.

There is hardly a more consistent player in world football at the moment. But if there is a challenger, then it has to be Xavi.

The midfield maestro is a real critics’ and players’ favorite. Not always as dazzling on eye as Messi and Iniesta, he is a footballer that you have to truly analyze and dig up some numbers to appreciate and admire his craft.

He didn’t score at the World Cup, he doesn’t bag hat-tricks, he doesn’t dribble past walls of defenders every week. He is a player who consistently strings close to 100 passes together match after match, he covers well over 10 kilometers per game, and his vision and passing range is incomparable.

The Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year accolades have always stirred up debates amongst fans in the past. Don’t expect it to be any different this year now that the awards have merged.

If you’re still craving more Spanish omelet, the top three coaches who are vying for the managerial equivalent of the award are all currently in Spanish football: World Cup winner Vicente del Bosque, Barca’s master conductor Pep Guardiola, and Inter’s treble winner and now property of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho.

(source: by KS Leong, www.goal.com)