Ballon D'Or

The famous Ballon D’Or gala took place today in Zurich, Switzerland. The long awaited gala brought out the famous soccer stars and there best attire. The ceremony began at 1pm EST, with the introduction of the three nominees to receive the prestigious award. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), and Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona). Along with this award the other awards of the night included Player of the Year (Men/Women), Coach of the Year (Men/Woman), FIFA World XI, Puskás Award (Goal of the Year), Presidential Award, and Fair Play Award.

Player of the Year (Men’s)

Lionel Messi took home his 4^th Balon D’Or making him the only player in the world to win 4 Ballon D’Or’s. Messi has become a global sensation after proving himself at Barcelona. The 25 year old received the award from Fabio Cannavaro ex Real Madrid and Juventus player. Messi stated that it was a pleasure to be here and that he wanted to thank all of his teammates from Barcelona, Argentina, and all his family especially his wife and son. In 2012 Messi was most noted for breaking the record for most goals scored in a calendar year with 91 goals surpassing famous legends such as Pele (75 Goals) and Gerard Mueller (85) Goals. The young Argentine has been frequently noted as the best player in the world and best athlete in the world. At such a young age many say there is still more to come from Messi. Many say that in order to become the best in the world he has to win a World Cup. Messi will look to prove himself and take Argentina to Brazil 2014 where the next World Cup will be held.

Player of the Year (Women’s)

 Abby Wambach was awarded the Women’s Player of the Year Award. After coming up short last year in the 2011 gala, teammate Hope Solo presented Wambach with her first ever Player of the Year Award. Along with Wambach Alex Morgan (U.S.A) and Marta (Brazil) were also nominated for the award. Wambach is known to be one of the senior players for the U.S Womens National team (USWNT). She has served as motivational role model and a leader to her teammates. Wambach and the U.S Women’s National (USWNT) team are currently ranked the number 1 team in the world. In 2011 the USWNT gave a strong run in the Women’s World Cup however they fell short in the final to Japan in penalties. The USWNT had a second chance to prove themselves in the 2012 Olympics when they had a rematch against Japan in the final. This time it was the US who took home the gold! Wambach scored 5 goals in the Olympics and played crucial role for the team. Wambach has gained much respect since then and is known to be one of the best female soccer players in the U.S. The New York Native thanked her teammates, coaches, family, and the fans for their support and was very thankful for the award.

FIFA Puskás Award (Goal of the Year)

The Puskás Award is one of the awards most look forward to. This award determines the goal of the year. The three nominees for this award included Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Neymar (Brazil), and Miroslav Stoch (Czechoslovakia). Miroslave was the lucky one who took home the award. The Fenerbahçe player scored a beautiful goal off a volley from outside the box. Many fans had hoped that the Colombian Falcao, would win after scoring an astonishing scissor kick goal. Last year Neymar took home the Puskás Award beating out Wayne Rooney’s memorable bicycle kick.

Coach of the Year (Men’s)

Spain’s head coach, Vicente Del Bosque was awarded the Coach of the Year award. Del Bosque has won the World Cup and the Euro Cup with Spain. In the past Del Bosque has also managed Real Madrid. The 62-year-old Spanish coach has won 56 games with the National team with 5 Draws and 6 Losses since July 1^st, 2008. Also nominated for the award were Pep Guardiola (Ex – Barcelona coach) and Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid coach).

Coach of the Year (Women’s)

Pia Sundhage is most notably known for exceling with the U.S Women’s National Team. The Swedish woman has taken the U.S squad to the world cup finals and won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. She was awarded the Woman’s Coach of the Year Award. Bruno Bini coach of the Women’s French National team and Norio Sasaki coach of the Japanese Women’s National team were also nominated for the award. However Sundhage was ecstatic to have won such prestigious award. She thanked her team and all the fans for the support and followed by singing a song to her players Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach who were also in attendance for Women’s Player of the Year award. Pia Sundhage has recently stepped down as the USWNT coach and is now the official coach of the Swedish team.

FIFA Best XI

The following players were selected as the best 11 in the world.

Goalkeeper – Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Defense – Dani Alvez (Barcelona), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders – Andrès Iniesta (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona),

Forwards – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Other Awards

Presidential Award

Franz Beckenbauer was awarded the Presidential award for his accomplishments in the past by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Fair Play Award

Uzbekistan was awarded the Fair Play award in their efforts to better the sport. Also nominated were the Guatemalan Football Association and Eskisehirspor.