Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have between them won the past six World Player of the Year awards, face opposition from Germany’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the short list announced by FIFA on Monday.
Ronaldo, who is the present holder of the title, having also won it in 2008, scored a record 17 goals in a UEFA Champions League campaign as Real Madrid went on to win their 10th European Cup last term.
Messi, the only player to have won the award four times, failed to win a title this year either with Barcelona or Argentina, although he was integral in his country reaching the World Cup final, where they lost 1-0 in extra-time to Germany.
Photo: AFP
The 27-year-old did pick up the consolation of the Player of the Tournament award.
Neuer, who was outstanding in goal for Germany and for Bayern Munich as they won the domestic double, would be only the second goalkeeper to win the award, which is to be announced on Jan. 12 in Zurich, Switzerland, after the then-Soviet Union’s Lev Yashin.
Coach of the Year is to be fought out between Neuer’s national coach Joachim Loew, Ronaldo’s club handler Carlo Ancelotti and Diego Simeone, who guided the far less moneyed Atletico Madrid to the Spanish title and the final of the Champions League.
The trio selected for the Puskas award for best goal are Colombia’s James Rodriguez, for his goal against Uruguay in the 2-0 victory in their World Cup round-of-16 clash, Robin van Persie’s leaping header against Spain in their World Cup group game and outsider Stephanie Roche for her goal for Peamount United against Wexford Youths on Oct. 20 last year.
Roche does not make the women’s Player of the Year shortlist, which consists of Brazil’s five-time winner Marta, Germany’s European player of the 2013-2014 season Nadine Kessler and US all-time record goalscorer Abby Warmbach, winner in 2012.
Japan’s Asian Coach of the Year Norio Sasaki, who has been in charge of her national side since 2007, Ralf Kellermann, who guided VfL Wolfsburg to the women’s UEFA Champions League title and his compatriot Maren Meinert, who coached the German under-20 team to their age category global title, are in line for the women’s Coach of the Year crown.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
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Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
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