Messi heads Ballon d'Or short list

[FIFA AWARDS] Four-time winner Lionel Messi heads the shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which is awarded to the best men's player in the world. The short list of 23 players includes six from UEFA Champions League winner Bayern Munich and four from Barcelona. The 10 nominees for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football 2013 include two coaches, Alex Ferguson and Jupp Heynckes, who retired after the spring season.

All 23 players hail from European clubs: seven on clubs in Germany, six in Spain, five in England, four in France and one in Italy. Seventeen of the 23 players are Europeans. The short list includes two players from Brazil and Uruguay and one each from Argentina and Ivory Coast.

The coaches are all Europeans except Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari, who coached Brazil to the 2013 Confederations Cup.

Players:
Gareth Bale (Wales)
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay)
Radamel Falcao (Colombia)
Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Thomas Mueller (Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Neymar (Brazil)
Mesut Ozil (Germany)
Andrea Pirlo (Italy)
Franck Ribery (France)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Thiago Silva (Brazil)
Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)
Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)
Xavi (Spain)

Coaches:
Carlo Ancelotti (Paris SG/Real Madrid)
Rafael Benitez (Chelsea/Napoli)
Antonio Conte (Juventus)
Vicente Del Bosque (Spain national team)
Alex Ferguson (ex-Manchester United)
Jupp Heynckes (ex-Bayern Munich)
Juergen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)
Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid/Chelsea)
Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil national team)
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
3 comments about "Messi heads Ballon d'Or short list".
  1. Noah Schwartz, October 29, 2013 at 9:20 a.m.

    Gareth Bale put forth magical display after magical display in calendar year 2013. He gets my player vote.

    Jupp Heynckes deserves the manager's award. But they'll likely add 7 mins of extra voting time for no reason and Sir Alex will get the neccessary late votes to win.

  2. beautiful game, October 29, 2013 at 10:33 a.m.

    IMHO, Bale is a quality player and he proved it in 2012/2013; however, he has a lot do before he approaches CR7 or Messi's level.

  3. Zoe Willet, October 30, 2013 at 5:23 p.m.

    If Neuer, why not Cech? (But seriously, Messi is the only 'best'.)

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