If you are a soccer fan, then I believe you know that FIFA Ballon d'Or award 2011 will be announced very soon. In fact, it will be announced on ninth January 2012 in Zurich. Only three players--Argentine wizard Lionel Messi, Real Madrid forward Christiano Ronaldo, and heart of Barcelona Xavi Hernandez are now competing each other to achieve the prestigious award.
Xavi is the heart of FC Barcelona along with his teammate creative Andres Iniesta who was also nominated last year but unfortunately missed this year. Xavi was also in top three last year. Needless to say he is the best midfielder of his generation. He controls the game, keeps passing, and moves all over the ground to make the opposite side restless. We saw his talent once again in the Champions League final of the last year where runners up Manchester United were literally outclassed by Barcelona. Barcelona seemed light-year ahead of their opponent. Last year the Spanish midfielder scored five goals and assisted many with his incredible vision. But, his two competitors Messi and CR7 played like players from another planet, and that is why probably he is not going to make it this year as well.
Ronaldo has been impressive last year. In fact, it was the best season for him wearing number 7 jersey in Real Madrid. He scored incredible 40 goals in La Liga! He broke the highest 38 goals record in La Liga and made a new benchmark. He was the winner of Pichichi award without any competitor. To sum up, he scored 53 goals in 54 matches, and this year he already scored more than twenty goals; looks like he will be in the list for the next year as well. Surprisingly, he only managed only one trophy Copa Del Rey with this enormous figure because Barcelona bagged all trophies except the Copa Del Rey. In my opinion he may not make it this year simply because of one man, and he is none other than Messi.
Undoubtedly, Messi is the hot favorite for 2011. What an incredible season he had which was completed winning the FIFA Club Football World Cup only few days ago. Like CR7 Messi scored 53 goals in 55 matches, but what really keeps him ahead of everyone in the world is the number of trophies. Barcelona was the winner of La Liga and Champions League, and Messi played a very vital role scoring 53 goals and assisting 24 goals (more assists than anyone). Once again Leo Messi scored in the Champions League final and FIFA Club World Cup final. He is now the first player ever to both score and assist goals in six different competitions. Probably the little man would be the first ever player to achieve the best player of the world in three successive years. Let's see what happens in Zurich.