Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo will be bidding for his third Ballon D’or after being named in FIFA’s shortlist for the award.
The list for the 2014 Ballon D’or was released on Tuesday and features four-time winner Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Germany’s World Cup-winning captain Phillip Lahm.
The list also features six players from the successful German team in Brazil including Mario Goetze, who scored the winning goal in the final, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer (all of Bayern Munich), and Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos.
Brazilian Neymar, who scored four goals at the finals in his home country, the Netherlands’ Arjen Robben James Rodriguez of Colombia, Spaniard Sergio Ramos Yaya Toure of Côte d’Ivoire and Chelsea’s Belgian winger Eden Hazard are also in the running for the award.
Gareth Bale (Wales), Karim Benzema (France), Diego Costa (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium) Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain),Javier Mascherano (Argentina) Paul Pogba of France round off the 23-man shortlist
Conspicuously missing from the list is Barcelona’s Luis Suarez , who’s stellar season in which he scored 31 league goals for Liverpool was somewhat marred by his ban for biting at the World Cup.
FIFA also released the shortlist for the Coach of the Year award which features Germany’s World Cup winning coach, Joachim Loew, Carlo Ancelotti, who won the Champions league with Real Madrid and Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid who led the capital club a a surprise La Liga triumph and Champions league final last season.
The following 23 men (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2014:
Gareth Bale (Wales), Karim Benzema (France), Diego Costa (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Mario Goetze (Germany), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Toni Kroos (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Mueller (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Paul Pogba (France), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire).
The following ten coaches (in alphabetical order, first nationality and then team) are in contention for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football 2014:
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid CF), Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus FC/Italy national team), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Juergen Klinsmann (Germany/ USA national team), Joachim Loew (Germany/Germany national team), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea FC), Manuel Pellegrini (Chile/Manchester City FC), Alejandro Sabella (Argentina/Argentina national team), Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid), Louis van Gaal (Netherlands/Netherlands national team/Manchester United FC).
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/ citifmonline.com/Ghana