Cristiano Ronaldo Wins 2013 Ballon d'Or

After four long years of seeing Lionel Messi claim the Ballon d'Or award, Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2013 Ballon d'Or. The Real Madrid player finished ahead of Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona), earning the second Ballon d'Or of his career. In an important year for Real Madrid and especially Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo has shown that the competition to be the world's top player isn't anywhere near over, especially with the 2014 World Cup in Brazil approaching.

Alongside Ronaldo and equally victorious at FIFA's award ceremony were Nadine Angerer (Women's World Player of the Year), Silvia Neid (World Coach of the Year for Women's Football), and Jupp Heynckes (World Coach of the Year for Men's Football). FIFA also awarded the FIFPro World XI, which consisted of Manuel Neuer in goal; a back four of Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, and Philip Lahm; a midfield trio of Xavi, Ribery, and Iniesta; and the deadly attacking trident of Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic also won the FIFA Puskas award with his truly awesome overhead kick when Sweden beat England 4-2 in a friendly. A big congratulations to all the winners, it's just a shame we won't be seeing more goals by Ibrahimovic at the 2014 World Cup.

FIFA Ballon d'Or 2013 Shortlist Revealed

FIFA have recently revealed the 23 man shortlist for the 2013 Ballon d'Or award, along with the ten nominees for the FIFA World Coach of the year award. The final winners will be revealed January 13th 2014, along with the FIFA FIFPro World XI, FIFA Puskás Award (most beautiful goal of the year), FIFA Presidential Award, and FIFA Fair Play Award.

Listed below are the 23 players with the chance to claim the 2013 Ballon d'Or:

Gareth Bale (Wales)
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay)
Radamel Falcao (Colombia)
Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
Andrés Iniesta (Spain)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Thomas Müller (Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Neymar (Brazil)
Mesut Özil (Germany)
Andrea Pirlo (Italy)
Franck Ribéry (France)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
Thiago Silva (Brazil)
Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)
Xavi (Spain)


And here are the ten coaches nominated for FIFA World Coach of the year:

Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain FC/Real Madrid CF)
Rafael Benítez (Spain/Chelsea FC/SSC Napoli)
Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus)
Vicente Del Bosque (Spain/Spain national team)
Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United FC former coach)
Jupp Heynckes (Germany/FC Bayern München former coach)
Jürgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)
José Mourinho (Portugal/Real Madrid CF/Chelsea FC)
Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil/Brazil national team)
Arsène Wenger (France/Arsenal FC).

Perhaps the most striking thing about the Ballon d'Or list is the absence of Wayne Rooney among the nominees. With Messi and Ronaldo probably amongst the top names, is there the possibility of a new name cracking through to claim the prestigious reward? While I'm definitely rooting for Zlatan, if Neymar continues to dazzle like he did in the recent Clasico then perhaps the decision could be much more difficult than it has been in past years. As for the coaches, while it would definitely be nice to see Sir Alex Ferguson get the award as a final recognition after his retirement, it's very difficult to look past Jupp Heynckes. After claiming the treble last season with Bayern Munich, Heynckes seems to be the favorite for the coaching award.

What are your thoughts about the shortlists? Is anyone being left out? Who do you think will claim the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Coach of the year? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

FIFA Puskas Award 2010 Nominees

The legendary Ferenc Puskas

FIFA recently announced the nominees for the FIFA Puskas award, which is basically the best goal of the year award. There are ten nominees, and all ten are fantastic goals! If you're interested in voting, FIFA's voting page is the place to go,

This is how FIFA decides the nomination and awarding process:

"The final list has been drawn up using the following criteria: aesthetics; the importance of the match; the absence of luck or an opposition mistake as a factor making the goal possible; fair play; and the date, with only goals scored between 1 January and 15 October 2010 counting.

You will find every conceivable type of goal in our top ten, from solo efforts and long-range strikes to audacious lobs, unstoppable volleys and gravity-defying scissor-kicks."

The scorers of the goals in competition for the award are Hamit Altintop, Arjen Robben, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Kumi Yokoyama, Linus Hallenius, Samir Nasri, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Matthew Burrows. I've found all of the goals on Youtube, and you can watch them below.

My favorite is Linus Hallenius's goal, it has technique, grace, and power. Which one do you think is the best? Comment your favorite below! 

Samir Nasri - Arsenal vs. Porto




Lionel Messi - Barcelona vs. Valencia




Linus Hallenius - Syrianska FC vs. Hammarby






Matthew Burrows - Glentoran vs. Portadown




Hamit Altintop - Kazakhstan vs. Turkey




Neymar - Santo Andre vs. Santos




Arjen Robben - Schalke 04 vs. Bayern Munich







Giovanni Van Bronckhorst - Netherlands vs. Uruguay







Siphiwe Tshabalala - South Africa vs. Mexico




Kumi Yokoyama - Korea DPR vs. Japan (womens)