Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi on FIFA Ballon dOr list, no Luis Suarez Luis Suarez and former Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto were not among the nominees for the FIFA Ballon dOr and Coach of the Year awards. Ballon dOr holder Cristiano Ronaldo and four-time winner Lionel Messi are among 23 players on FIFAs list of contenders for this years award honouring the worlds top player. The list was compiled by the FIFA Football Committee with the help of French magazine France Football. It will be trimmed to a shortlist of three on Dec. 1, with the winner announced at a ceremony in Zurich on Jan 12, 2015. Messi won the award four straight years from 2009-2012, while Ronaldo won it in 2008 and 2013. The award was presented solely by France Football until 2009, and the publication joined with FIFAs World Player of the Year Award for the 2010 edition. Cristiano Ronaldo broke Lionel Messis grasp on the Ballon dOr last year. Can he win it again? The list features 17 players from Europe, five from South America and one from Africa (Yaya Toure). World champions Germany are the most represented with six entries. All of the candidates play their club football in Europe, for only eight different clubs, with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich tied for the most with six each, followed by Barcelona with four. Two goalkeepers were named to the shortlist: Belgiums Thibaut Courtois and Germanys Manuel Neuer. There was no place on the list for Barcelona striker Luis Suarez, who was named the Premier Leagues Player of the Year last season while at Liverpool and shared the Golden Ball award as Europes top goal scorer last term with Ronaldo, following his four-month ban for biting Italys Giorgio Chiellini during a match at the World Cup. Should Luis Suarez be on the 23-man Ballon dOr shortlist? Yes No 53% Yes 47% No The list of 23 contenders: Gareth Bale, Wales, Real Madrid Karim Benzema, France, Real Madrid Diego Costa, Spain, Chelsea Thibaut Courtois, Belgium, Chelsea Angel Di Maria, Argentina, Manchester United Mario Gotze, Germany, Bayern Munich Eden Hazard, Belgium, Chelsea Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden, Paris Saint-Germain Andres Iniesta, Spain, Barcelona Toni Kroos, Germany, Real Madrid Philipp Lahm, Germany, Bayern Munich Javier Mascherano, Argentina, Barcelona Lionel Messi, Argentina, Barcelona Thomas Muller, Germany, Bayern Munich Manuel Neuer, Germany, Bayern Munich Neymar, Brazil, Barcelona Paul Pogba, France, Juventus Sergio Ramos, Spain, Real Madrid Arjen Robben, Netherlands, Bayern Munich James Rodriguez, Colombia, Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Real Madrid Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany, Bayern Munich Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast, Manchester City FIFA also released the 10 candidates for the Coach of the Year award. It included Joachim Low and Alejandro Sabella, the coaches of World Cup finalists Germany and Argentina, as well as the winners of the domestic club leagues in England (Maneul Pellegrini), Germany (Pep Guardiola), Spain (Diego Simeone) and Italy (Antonio Conte). The list of 10 contenders: Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid Antonio Conte, Juventus/Italy Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich Jurgen Klinsmann, United States Joachim Low, Germany Jose Mourinho, Chelsea Manuel Pellegrini, Manchester City Alejandro Sabella, Argentina Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid Louis van Gaal, Netherlands/Manchester United Comments Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebooks Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPNs media platforms. Learn more. International Friendly
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 05:38:28 +0000
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