Barca stars dominate Ballon D'Or shortlist
Seven members of the Barcelona side which claimed last season’s Champions League and Primera Division double were today named on the 23-man shortlist for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Barca edged out Real Madrid to land the domestic crown and then eased past Manchester United at Wembley to claim their fourth Champions League title.
That achievement was recognised today with Eric Abidal, Dani Alves, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, David Villa and Xavi all nominated for the award, while summer signing Cesc Fabregas has also been included on the list.
The winner is chosen by the captains and head coaches of national teams within FIFA as well as by international media representatives selected by France Football, on December 5.
Madrid were also well represented with five nominees – Karim Benzema, Iker Casillas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Xabi Alonso – while Manchester United (Wayne Rooney and Nani) and Bayern Munich (Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger) had two each.
The Uruguay strikeforce of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez who led their country to the Copa America crown were also listed.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola was named among the candidates for the FIFA World Coach of the Year alongside the winners of the domestic crowns in England (Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson), France (Lille’s Rudi Garcia), Germany (Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp) and Portugal (Porto’s former boss Andre Villas-Boas, now of Chelsea).
The shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 is: Eric Abidal (France), Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Karim Benzema (France), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Dani Alves (Brazil), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Nani (Portugal), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Gerard Pique (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), David Villa (Spain), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Xavi (Spain).
The shortlist for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football 2011: Vicente Del Bosque (Spain/Spain national team), Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United), Rudi Garcia (France/Lille), Pep Guardiola (Spain/Barcelona), Jurgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Joachim Low (Germany/Germany national team), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Real Madrid), Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay/Uruguay national team), Andre Villas-Boas (Portugal/Porto, Chelsea), Arsene Wenger (France/Arsenal).
