FIFPro World Player Of The Year

Xavi6

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7030442.stm

Kaka wins world players' accolade

AC Milan forward Kaka has been named FIFPro world player of the year.

The 25-year-old Brazilian claimed the accolade after 45,000 members of the players' union voted in the awards, which are in their third year.

He said: "I am humbled to receive such an honour. To follow my good friend and such a great player as Ronaldinho makes this a very special award."

No surprises there.

Here's their XI as well -

FIFPro World XI: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus); Alessandro Nesta (Italy/AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy/Real Madrid), John Terry (England/Chelsea), Carles Puyol (Spain/Barcelona). Steven Gerrard (England/Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (England/Manchester United)Kaka (Brazil/AC Milan), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea), Ronaldinho (Brazil/Barcelona)

For me Ronaldinho is there on reputation mainly. I know he scored a fair few last year but overall his form hasn't been up to scratch in recent years. I'd have had Totti in there. Also thought someone might have gotten in from Inter seeing as they destroyed Serie A. Hope for everyone as well if a Serie B is the best in the world!

An Citeog

That is the most unfunctional team I've ever seen! Buffon played in Serie B last season and shouldn't be there. Cannavaro, Terry and Puyol had poor enough seasons but Nesta definitely deserves his place. Can't argue with Ronaldo, Kaka and Drogba. Not sure about Gerrard. Ronaldinho is definitely in there on reputation and although Messi produced some moments of brilliance last season, he was injured for a lot of it. On current form though, he'd be my first in the team.

Does anyone know when the voting took place?

kinaldo

Cannavaro and Puyol in there but no Sergio Ramos...

Seaneh

Doesn't matter what league he plays in, he's still easily the best keeper in the world.

Mr. Presentable

An Citeog wrote:

Buffon played in Serie B last season and shouldn't be there.

What the fudge does where he played have to do with it? Seriously, I'd be interested in your rationale. If his fellow pros say he's the best, then who's better to judge. You?

An Citeog

Seaneh wrote:

Doesn't matter what league he plays in, he's still easily the best keeper in the world.

True but I still don't think he should be in there this year. A player should be judged on their form over the season and the strength of their league rather than reputation. I don't think Buffon deserves to be there, solely because he spent the whole season in Serie B. Just my 2 cents.

+1 for Sergio Ramos aswell.

Seaneh

WTF? reputaion my hole.
He is the best keeper in the world.
His form with Itlay proves that if serie b doesn't.

kinaldo

Iker Casillas is better than Buffon imo. He was also arguably Real Madrid's player of the year last season - again!

Seaneh

kinaldo wrote:

He was also arguably Real Madrid's player of the year last season - again!

No arguement about it.
He was Reals best player.

He's not better than Buffon though.

An Citeog

Seaneh wrote:

WTF? reputaion my hole.
He is the best keeper in the world.
His form with Itlay proves that if serie b doesn't.

The reputation comment was aimed mainly at Ronaldinho. IMHO the quality of the league has a huge bearing on selection. Every player in that team plays in England, Spain or Italy. I'm not denying that Buffon is arguably the best keeper in the world; I'm just saying that the fact he was playing in Serie B and didn't play in Europe should count against him, especially with the criteria that seems to be used to select these players. On last seasons form, I'd have Casillas and possibly Reina (although he did make a couple of howlers earlier in the season) ahead of him.

Put Kaka in the premiership and he wont win that award .

PHB

Put Kaka in the premiership and it won't matter. He wasn't amazing in the Serie A either. He lite up the world in the CL though.

As for the whole Buffon thing, imo Casillas is the best in the world, however, Buffon won the world cup, so it's not like he was just in the Serie B.

Oh yeh, and Ronaldinho, who 'wasn't great', scored 16 goals in the league last season. Nobodys complaining about Messi or Gerrard, who Ronaldinho out scored significantly.

Seaneh

put your dad in a dress and he'd look like a tit, what's your point?
You saying Kaka isn't world class?

Kaka would destroy the premiership.

He destroyed the best team in the prem twice in the last few years.

Seaneh

PHB wrote:

He wasn't amazing in the Serie A either. He lite up the world in the CL though.

Don't watch much Italian footie do ya Fub?

He was Milan's top scorer, and thier best player by a mile.
He was fantastic really....
Some say he's the best player in the world...

kinaldo

Seaneh wrote:

He's not better than Buffon though.

Ok if you say so. He is imo though.

Buffon is still a legend in Newcastle for the goal he helped Andy Griffin score that ultimately got us out of the group in 02/03

PHB

Some would agree His form in the Serie A wasn't really to do with him, more to do with the team around him. Last season he only scored 8 goals in the Serie A, a significant drop from the season before if I'm not mistaken, and really nothing compared to his CL form. I watch as much Italian football as I can Milan are on more than others so I watch them, mostly because I enjoy watching Ronaldo play more than anything else. That said, this season, anytime i've seen him he has been immense.

Mr. Presentable

kinaldo wrote:

Iker Casillas is better than Buffon imo. He was also arguably Real Madrid's player of the year last season - again!

Unfortunately the list is not formed by your opinions, but the opinions of people who actually do what the list members do for a living.

Doncha just love the way poxy lists and awards bring out the heckles

An Citeog

PHB wrote:

Put Kaka in the premiership and it won't matter. He wasn't amazing in the Serie A either. He lite up the world in the CL though.

As for the whole Buffon thing, imo Casillas is the best in the world, however, Buffon won the world cup, so it's not like he was just in the Serie B.

Oh yeh, and Ronaldinho, who 'wasn't great', scored 16 goals in the league last season. Nobodys complaining about Messi or Gerrard, who Ronaldinho out scored significantly.

From what I remember, Ronaldinho had a great start to the season but faded as the season went on, though I'm open to correction. He still didn't look like his old self and how many of those goals came from penos and free kicks? Btw, I questioned Messi's and Gerard's inclusion already.

The reason I asked when the voting was done and what time period it took into consideration was because of Buffon's performances in the world cup. This time last year he was unquestionably the best keeper in the world.

And Kaka was, without doubt, the best player in the world last season. I think Messi may usurp him this season but that remains to be seen.

kinaldo

nipplenuts wrote:

Unfortunately the list is not formed by your opinions, but the opinions of people who actually do what the list members do for a living.

No kidding, I did not know that. Cheers for enlightening me. I will keep my opinions of the opinions of professional footballers to myself from now on.

iregk

I love some peoples logic on this board. Kaka is the best player in Italy, best player in the Champions League, best player in the world. But hey you know what? He'd be crap in the premiership!!!

Would you get f**king real...

~Rebel~

iregk wrote:

I love some peoples logic on this board. Kaka is the best player in Italy, best player in the Champions League, best player in the world. But hey you know what? He'd be crap in the premiership!!!

Would you get f**king real...

The name Shevchenko springs to mind..though i dont think the same would happen with Kaka.

iregk

Expected that one but to be fair I think we all agree there is a lot more going on there than simply having a bad run...

Bounty Hunter

put Kaka at Arsenal and begging drooling...

nothing about Schevchenkos time at Chelsea has been suited to a players integration into a set up. Gerrard is there on rep, Buffon/Casillas is argueable but Buffon did win the WC and if Juve would let him go, they would have been inundated with offers to take hime out of Seria B.

as a few have said Ramos prob deserved inclusion too.

redzerdrog

canavaro has been very poor this year and its selections like this that makes these teams a shambles

PHB

I think it's not necessarily based on who the best player is, but how difficult they are to play against. Like all of those players are absolute ****ers to play against I'd wager. Either very attacking i.e. running at you or very strong and determined.

ROCKMAN

Bounty Hunter wrote:

put Kaka at Arsenal and begging drooling...nothing about Schevchenkos time at Chelsea has been suited to a players integration into a set up. Gerrard is there on rep, Buffon/Casillas is argueable but Buffon did win the WC and if Juve would let him go, they would have been inundated with offers to take hime out of Seria B.

as a few have said Ramos prob deserved inclusion too.

as a UTD fan, that would be a nightmare come true.But it would be great to watch shhhhhhhh

carlop

The Italian press are already convinced Ibrahimovic will win this next year, which isn't surprising given his current form. I'm also a bit surprised neither pirlo or gattuso got a mention

AnCapaillMor

carlop wrote:

The Italian press are already convinced Ibrahimovic will win this next year, which isn't surprising given his current form.

The fact that he plays in Italy and not england, he's already started with a huge advantage.

Seaneh

Interesting artical from Channel4, kinda sums up this boards, and the skysports viewing public's view on world football.
It's about Zlatan aswell...

From: http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/blogs/rg5.html

Inter may have had by far the strongest squad in Serie A last term – indeed, they do this time around too – but their Scudetto bid would have failed without the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The former Ajax ace has what ITV executives and teenage girls would call the X-Factor, which is the ability to turn a game in a split second with a moment of magic.

This has become more apparent in the early part of the season as the Nerazzurri have stuttered to the top of the Italian top flight despite playing anything but their best football. Half of their 14-goal League haul has come from their Swedish superstar, while he has also weighed in with some crucial assists. In short, his form has been nothing less than sublime.

Despite the statistics now backing up what most calcio fans already know – that the 26-year-old is a fantastic footballer – the jury is still out on Ibrahimovic among fans and pundits from outside the peninsula. Why? Well, according to Andy Gray and his cronies at Sky Sports, it’s because he’s moody. Yet these are the same people who are constantly drooling over Wayne Rooney, despite the Manchester United striker perfecting the scowl in the same way that Derek Zoolander mastered Blue Steel.

It’s lazy punditry at its best – or should that be worst – and, quite frankly, I’m getting fed up of it. I remember talking to James Richardson a few years ago after Juventus had hammered Roma at the Stadio Olimpico and he was full of praise for the lanky hitman. What everyone’s favourite presenter was most impressed with seemed to be Ibra’s ability to control any sort of ball to him, whether it was into his feet or just hoofed clear to him out of defence.

The most similar player in that aspect of the game is Didier Drogba, a forward who is as highly-regarded as any in England at the moment. Yet the Ivorian, who is coveted by Milan, doesn’t have the same skill level as Inter’s No 8. He scores plenty, but rarely are they entirely of his own making. Ibra often resembles a one-man band with some of the goals he scores, which Gray and Co would realise if they bothered to watch more than just Inter’s European Cup highlights.

The Ballon d’Or might be a step too far for Zlatan this year given the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka in the Champions League, but if he continues in the same manner as he did against PSV on Tuesday night then it won’t be long before he is crowned as the King of Europe. Perhaps then people will start giving him the credit which his stunning ability undoubtedly deserves.

tdv

WTF! No Riquelme? But they have Ronaldinho & Gerrard because they give lots of interviews & smile for the cameras.

tdv

Double Post.

~Rebel~

tdv wrote:

WTF! No Riquelme? But they have Ronaldinho & Gerrard because they give lots of interviews & smile for the cameras.

Well it is voted for by players (45,000), so Riquelme being away for the year would pretty much rule him out immediately. Not being in Europe he'd have been barely seen by your average player, certainly not enough to get into the top 11.

tdv

Well then it should be called European Player of the Year.

tdv

Double post for some reason. ????

~Rebel~

tdv wrote:

Well then it should be called European Player of the Year.

It is players from around the globe that vote (its actually 57,500players according to fifpro website) but what i mean is that votes from Riquelme would probably only be coming from Brazil and Argentina, while many in those countries would also be voting for those in Europe. Nobodies at fault and theres not much that can be done, its just that European leagues are more accessible worldwide, so their players get more exposure.

<edit> you can delete double posts using the edit function, i've found a few of mine popping up double over the past few days as well for some reason.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

iregk

Thats a great post Seaneh. Sums up sky and Andy Grey perfectly. I know Fabregas gets a lot of mention on sky but can you imagine if he was English how bad it woudl be? They seem to be so dependant on having a hero and will stop at nothing to proclaim the next one.

PHB

It's about style of play. Scholes was never drolled over by the media, despite being the best complete midfielder of his generation. Why? Cause he's not a wonder-goal player, he's just a player. THey want someone who could be the best player ever, and every time somebody like that comes along, they will do whatever they can to make it happen. It's the reason for their fixation on Gerrard, it's their reason for their fixation on Rooney. England have had some of the best players of all time, but none of their players are ever considered to be in the running for the best player of all time, something that grates at them I'm sure.

Seaneh

PHB wrote:

best complete midfielder of his generation

Seriously, take off the red tinted glasses, the man cannot defend, the worst tackler I have EVER seen...

PHB

In England not in the world, from his generation, I can't think of anyone who rivals him.

kinaldo

PHB wrote:

In England not in the world, from his generation, I can't think of anyone who rivals him.

The best since Gascoigne. Imagine how much more he could have archived had Ferguson managed to sign him and pair him with Keane...

Xavi6

Xavi6 wrote:

Here's their XI as well -

FIFPro World XI: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus); Alessandro Nesta (Italy/AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy/Real Madrid), John Terry (England/Chelsea), Carles Puyol (Spain/Barcelona). Steven Gerrard (England/Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (England/Manchester United)Kaka (Brazil/AC Milan), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea), Ronaldinho (Brazil/Barcelona)

Can't believe it's taken this long for someone to spot the BBC's solution for solving England's problem with wingers!