The Argentine hero now has a golden ball! Lionel Messi became the first Argentine to win the Ballon d’Oras France Football magazine’s European club player of the year. The 22-year-old, Barcelona forward was a near-unanimous pick, beating Cristiano Ronaldo by a record 240 point difference. The award is decided by a poll of world football journalists from a list of only 30 players. 96 jurors gave Messi 473 points out of a possible 480. Lionel Messi became the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first in four years – since Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.
Last season Messi’s FC Barcelona squad won the Champions League, the Spanish title and the Copa del Rey. Messi was the top scorer in last year’s Champions League with nine goals, including a header in the 2-0 final defeat of Manchester United in Rome.
The only problem with this wonderful honor is that no player in history has ever won the award and went on to win the World Cup in the same year. The Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is this Friday (Dec. 4) in Cape Town, so we’ll see who Argentina and Messi will face-off against then.
The FIFA Organizing Committee approved today the procedure for the Final Draw of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The seeding was based on the October 2009 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England are therefore the seven squads that join hosts South Africa as seeded teams for the Final Draw. – FIFA Organising Committee approves Final Draw Procedure
Here’s the article with a brief assessment on all the World Cup Contenders. I’m sure there’s a million more like this one. Lot’s more on the 2010 FIFA World Cup to come.
Who I’m rooting for: USA, Argentina, England & Greece.
He’s one of the best player in the world. He can do everything with the ball. He’s one 5 Ballon d’OR now and 5 golden boot too. I just love the way he plays. He’s amazing player. I just love him…