Four Americans nominated for FIFA Women's Player of the Year
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Oct 25, 2012
[AWARDS] Four Americans -- Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach -- are on the 10-player short list for the 2012 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. Swede Pia Sundhage and University of Virginia coach Steve Swanson, who led the USA to the 2012 Olympic and Under-20 Women's World
Cup titles, respectively, are among the 10 candidates for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer.
Voting will be done by the captains and head coaches of the
women’s national teams as well as by international media representatives selected by France Football.
The shortlists for the FIFA Ballon d’Or (best male player)
and the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Soccer awards will be revealed on Monday.
On Nov. 29, FIFA and France Football will announce at a press conference in Sao Paulo
the names of the three finalists in each category.
The winners of all of the awards will be revealed at the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala as part of a televised show at the Zurich
Kongresshaus on Jan. 3, 2013.
FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year:
Camille Abily (France)
Miho Fukumoto (Japan)
Carli
Lloyd (USA)
Marta (Brazil)
Aya Miyama (Japan)
Alex Morgan (USA)
Megan Rapinoe (USA)
Homare Sawa (Japan)
Christine Sinclair (Canada)
Abby Wambach (USA)
FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer:
Bruno Bini (France/France national team)
John Herdman (England/Canada national
team)
Patrice Lair (France/Olympique Lyonnais)
Maren Meinert (Germany/Germany U-20 national team)
Silvia Neid (Germany/Germany national team)
Hope Powell (England/England
national team)
Norio Sasaki (Japan/Japan national team)
Pia Sundhage (Sweden/USA national team)
Steve Swanson (USA/USA U-20 national team)
Hiroshi Yoshida (Japan/Japan
U-20/U-17 national teams)
Choosing the coach of the year looks quite a bit easier than player. Pia should win this award for her taking a team disappointed with last year's performance and moulding that into an Olympic champion. The player's award is far more complicated as it asks the voter to decide what style is valued more. If you are looking at goalscoring, then it would be Morgan, Wambach, Sawa or Sinclair. Leadership would give you a diffenent group. Playmaking would bring in Rapinoe along with others. That's a vote I'm glad not to participate in as it is much too difficult to choose. All are deserving in their own way. I would recognize Megan Rapinoe for having the courage to be true to herself in the face of stubborn opposition in many parts of the world. Her announcement of her sexual orientation, which was well known and fully accepted by her teammates, must have had a negative reaction in those in society who judge her not by who she is but by what. I believe she should be recognized for the positive role model she is for people who often are judged not to be for entirely the wrong reasons.