FIFA And FIFA Women's World Player 2009 Nominees
Reigning Champs Cristiano Ronaldo, Marta Among Short List
Nov 2, 2009
Reigning champions Cristiano Ronaldo and Marta head the lists of nominees for the FIFA and FIFA Women's World Player 2009 awards. There are 23 candidates for the men's honor and 10 women nominees.
Voted By National Team Captains And Coaches
The winners will be voted upon by the captains and coaches of the FIFA national team. Captains and coaches cannot however vote for players from the national team they play for or coach.
Gala In Zurich In December 2009
FIFA will announce in early December the top five vote-getters for the men and women awards. Those 10 players will then be invited to the 19th FIFA World Player Gala at Zurich's Kongresshaus for the ceremony on December 21, 2009.
The 23 Men's Candidates - By Nation (Club In Parentheses)
The favorites for the award are Barcelona's Argentinean star midfielder Lionel Messi as well as Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid who played last season at Manchester United.
Argentina: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Brazil: Diego (Juventus), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) and Kaka (Real Madrid)
Cameroon: Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
England: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard, John Terry (both FC Chelsea) and Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
France: Thierry Henry (Barcelona) and Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Germany: Michael Ballack (Chelsea)
Ghana: Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin)
Ivory Coast: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Spain: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Xavi (all Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Liverpool) and David Villa (Valencia)
Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Spain, England Top Represented Nations
The nation with the most nominees is European champion Spain, which has six nominees: Iker Casillas, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Fernando Torres and David Villa. England are second best with four with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Wayne Rooney.
Barcelona, Chelsea Top Represented Clubs
Champions League winners Barcelona are clearly the most represented club with six current players: Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Xavi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Chelsea are second-best represented with five players: Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry.
10 FIFA Women's Player 2009 Nominees
The top women's player of 2009 will also be honored on December 21 in Zurich. Brazilian starlet Marta won the award last year and is one of the favorites to reclaim the FIFA prize. Another top candidate is three-time winner Birgit Prinz of Germany as well as fellow European champion compatriots Nadine Angerer, Inka Grings and Simone Laudehr
The 10 Women's Candidates - By Nation
Brazil: Marta, Cristiane
England: Kelly Smith
France: Sonia Bompastor
Germany: Nadine Angerer, Inka Grings, Simone Laudehr and Birgit Prinz
Japan: Mana Iwabuchi
United States: Abby Wambach
