Friday, 31 October 08, 08:04 PM
From the nominations provided by FIFPro, who would have been in your World XI?
Nominees (teams played for last season)
Goalkeepers:
Artur Boruc [Poland/ Celtic]; Gianluigi Buffon [Italy/ Juventus]; Iker Casillas [Spain/ Real Madrid]; Petr Cech [Czech Republic/ Chelsea], Edwin van der Sar [Holland/ Manchester United].
Defenders:
Daniel Alves [Brazil/ Sevilla]; José Bosingwa [Portugal/ FC Porto]; Fabio Cannavaro [Italy/ Real Madrid]; Ricardo Carvalho [Portugal/ Chelsea]; Gaël Clichy [France, Arsenal]; Ashley Cole
[England/ Chelsea]; Patrice Evra [France/ Manchester United]; Rio Ferdinand [England/ Manchester United]; Philipp Lahm [Germany/ Bayern Munich]; Ferreira Lucio [Brazil/Bayern Munich]; Paolo
Maldini [Italy/ AC Milan]; Alessandro Nesta [Italy/ AC Milan]; Pepe [Portugal/ Real Madrid]; Carles Puyol [Spain/ Barcelona]; Sergio Ramos [Spain/ Real Madrid]; John Terry [England/ Chelsea];
Nemanja Vidic [Serbia/ Manchester United]; Gianluca Zambrotta [Italy/ Barcelona]; Javier Zanetti [Argentina/ Inter]; Yuri Zhirkov [Russia/ CSKA Moscow].
Midfielders:
Deco [Portugal/ Barcelona]; Michael Ballack [Germany/ Chelsea]; Michael Essien [Ghana/ Chelsea]; Gennaro Gattuso [Italy/ AC Milan]; Cesc Fabregas [Spain/ Arsenal]; Steven Gerrard [England/
Liverpool; Andrès Iniesta [Spain/ Barcelona]; Kaká [Brazil/ AC Milan]; Frank Lampard [England/ Chelsea]; Javier Mascherano [Argentina/ Liverpool]; Andrea Pirlo [Italy/ AC Milan]; Franck Ribery
[France/ Bayern Munich]; Marcos Senna [Spain/ Villareal]; Wesley Sneijder [Holland/ Real Madrid]; Xavi [Spain/ Barcelona].
Forwards:
Andrei Arshavin [Russia/ Zenit St Petersburg]; Dimitar Berbatov [Bulgaria/ Tottenham Hotspur]; Didier Drogba [Ivory Coast/ Chelsea]; Samuel Eto'o [Cameroon/ Barcelona]; Thierry Henry [France/
Barcelona]; Zlatan Ibrahimovic [Sweden/ Inter]; Lionel Messi [Argentina/ Barcelona]; Ruud van Nistelrooy [Holland/ Real Madrid]; Ronaldinho [Brazil/ Barcelona]; Cristiano Ronaldo [Portugal/
Manchester United]; Wayne Rooney [England/ Manchester United]; Carlos Tévez [Argentina/ Manchester United]; Luca Toni [Italy/ Bayern Munich]; Fernando Torres [Spain/ Liverpool]; David Villa
[Spain/ Valencia].
Here is the official World XI according to FIFPro:
Wednesday, 29 October 08, 07:47 PM
3 players are in the running for the accolade, which is voted for by international captains and managers, with the award winner revealed on January 12 at a ceremony in Zurich.
All of the players listed are currently playing their football in Europe, with the English Premier League heading the nominations with 10 representatives.
Spain’s La Liga has 8 players nominated, while there are just 3 listed from Italy’s Serie A.
Germany’s Bundesliga and the Russian top-flight complete the nominations with one player each.
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently won the FifPro player of the year award, is the current favourite to win the accolade.
However, he can expect heavy pressure from the likes of Iker Casillas, Fernando Torres, Lionel Messi and Kaka, who won last year’s award.
Full list of nominees for the Fifa World Player of the Year award:
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, Togo), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, Argentina), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg, Russia), Michael Ballack (Chelsea, Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Spain), Deco (Chelsea, Portugal), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast), Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona, Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal, Spain), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan, Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain), Kaka (AC Milan, Brazil), Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich, France), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal), John Terry (Chelsea, England), Fernando Torres (Liverpool, Spain), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid, Holland), David Villa (Valencia, Spain) and Xavi (Barcelona, Spain).
Brazilian players have dominated the history of the award with 8 winners since its inception in 1991. Barcelona have been the most successful club, having had 6 winners playing for them when picking up the trophy.
Sunday, 26 October 08, 08:19 PM
Iker Casillas:
"Setting foot in this stadium is very special. Being able to play here is a dream I had ever since I was a kid; playing on a pitch that has hosted such great footballers. That dream has become reality, and now I play on a pitch that takes centre stage every weekend."
"My best memory is every time I came as a kid, but I will never forget what it was like setting foot on the turf for the first time. I had won the European Premier Nike Cup with the youth team and we had to make an appearance. It felt amazing, and it's when I said that I would someday be back."
Sunday, 26 October 08, 08:08 PM
More than half the people surveyed by 'La Sexta' are behind Iker Casillas' bid to win the much coveted Golden Ball, with worldwide favourite Cristiano Ronaldo a mere fifth...
A survey conducted by Spanish television station 'La Sexta' has revealed that 55.5% of its participants believe that Real Madrid keeper should be the first keeper since Lev Yashin to win the Golden Ball. Coming in at second place in the poll was Lionel Messi, who won the Olympics, with 13.8%, with Fernando Torres, who scored more than thirty goals last season for Liverpool, picking up bronze with 8.5%. Xavi, named the player of Euro 2008 by UEFA, had to settle for fourth with 5.3%, while hot favourite Cristiano Ronaldo, who has modestly declared himself the best player of last season, could only finish in fifth, with 3.5% of the votes. Having been instrumental in both his club's league triumph and his country's victory at the Euros, there are not many who would argue were 'St. Iker' awarded the precious trophy. Goalkeepers, however, are often not considered glamarous enough for the prize. It remains to be seen whether the trend will continue.
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