Monday 12 January 2015

Cristiano Ronaldo Is Ballon D'Or 2014 Winner

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been named world footballer
of the year after winning the Ballon d'Or for the second year in a
row.

The Portugal captain beat Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern
Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the award.

Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler was named women's
player of the year, while Colombia's James Rodriguez won goal of the
year.

Germany's World Cup winner Joachim Low won men's coach of the year.

Wolfsburg boss Ralf Kellermann was named women's football coach of the
year after a successful defence of the Champions League.

The three candidates for the Ballon d'Or were all picked in the team
of the year, along with defenders Philipp Lahm, David Luiz, Thiago
Silva and Sergio Ramos, midfielders Andres Iniesta, Toni Kroos and
Angel Di Maria and forward Arjen Robben.

Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo successfully defended his world player of the year
status convincingly with 37.66% of all votes, winning for a third
time. Barcelona and Argentina counterpart Lionel Messi - who won four
years in a row until Ronaldo beat him last year, was second on 15.76%.
He was narrowly ahead of Bayern Munich and Germany keeper Manuel
Neuer, who had 15.72%.

Ronaldo, who scored 52 goals in 43 games during 2014, looked emotional
when collecting the award from former France, Barcelona and Arsenal
striker Thierry Henry.

The 29-year-old said: "I would like to thank all of those who voted
for me, my president, my coach and Real Madrid. It has been an
unforgettable year. To win this trophy at the end of it is something
incredibly unique."

Women's World Player of the Year

Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kesslerwas named women's
player of the year. The 26-year-old beat Brazil's Marta and United
States international Abby Wambach.

Kessler said: "My heart is beating madly at the moment. I don't think
I ever thought in my life I would achieve this moment.

"Without my team-mates and my coach, this would never have been
possible. I have a great degree of gratitude that I must give to my
family. They have seen me through all the difficult times."

Puskas Award (goal of the year)

Colombia'sJames Rodriguezwon the Fifa goal of the year award for his
World Cup strike against Uruguay, beating Irishwoman Stephanie Roche.

Roche, who scored a stunner for Peamount against Wexford in the Irish
top flight, had hoped to be the first female winner of the Puskas
Award.

She landed 33% of the public vote to Rodriguez's 42%. Manchester
United striker Robin van Persie - the third nominee - earned just 11%
for his diving header against Spain in the World Cup.

Read more about the award and see the goals here.

Fifa/Fifpro World XI

The Fifa team of the year was voted for by 20,000 professional
footballers worldwide.

World coach - men's football
Germany bossJoachim Lowwon after leading his country to World Cup
glory in Brazil, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final.

"It is a huge honour after what's been an incredibly successful year,"
he said. "It's the icing on the cake - the cake obviously being the
World Cup. I'm just taking this award on behalf of everybody who has
taken this team to where it is. I would like to thank all the German
coaches who do so much good work with the young players. They are all
coaches of the year."

Low beat Diego Simeone, who led Atletico Madrid to the Spanish
titleand Champions League final, and Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti,
whose side beat their city rivals to become European championsfor a
record 10th time.

World coach - women's football

Wolfsburg bossRalf Kellermannwas named women's football coach of the
year after leading the German club to a successful defence of the
Champions League.

He said: "This award is an outstanding moment. Unfortunately I've
picked up an individual award for what is team sport, so I dedicate
this to my whole team. I would also like to pay tribute to [Wolfsburg
midfielder] Junior Malanda, who was so sadly taken from ustwo days
ago."

Kellermann beat Germany Under-20 boss Maren Meinert and Japan boss
Norio Sasaki to the award.

Fair Play Award

The winner was the thousands ofvolunteerswho gave up their time to
work at Fifa competitions - including the World Cup - over the past 12
months.

Presidential Award

The Presidential Award was picked by Fifa president Sepp Blatter for
"a person that has made a superlative contribution to football without
seeking to monopolise the limelight".

The winner was Japanese journalistHiroshi Kagawa,who covered his 10th
World Cup last summer at the age of 89.
--BBC

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