Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the world player of the year on Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.

The Barcelona and Argentina forward took 41.33 percent of the votes followed by the Portuguese and Real Madrid forward (27.76 percent), with Brazil and Barcelona forward Neymar third (7.86 per cent).

“It is a very special moment for me to be back here on this stage, winning again another Ballon d’Or after being there in the audience watching Cristiano win,” said Messi as he accepted the award at the end of a drawn-out 90-minute ceremony.

“It’s incredible this is my fifth.”

Barcelona’s Luis Enrique was voted coach of the year while United States World Cup winner Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the final against Japan, was named women’s player of the year.

Initially started as the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1991, it became known as the Ballon d’Or after merging with France Football’s European footballer of the year award in 2010.

The award, shared exclusively between Messi and Real Madrid’s Ronaldo since Brazilian Kaka won in 2007, has been heavily promoted by FIFA and was broadcast to 190 countries with 1,100 guests including players and coaches attending the ceremony.

But it is not everyone’s cup of tea and some critics, such as Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, say it is not appropriate in a team sport.

“I’m a big enemy of the Ballon d’Or. Who will win it? You know as well as I do that it’s certainly Messi who will win it. I think so. Overall I’m not a big fan of that,” the Frenchman said earlier on Monday.

The breakdown presented by FIFA also revealed tactical voting among the 165 national team coaches, 162 national team captains and 171 media representatives who cast votes.

Messi, eligible to vote as Argentina captain, named Barcelona team mates Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta as his top three.

Portugal captain Ronaldo choose three Real Madrid team mates — Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale.

Belgium captain Vincent Kompany opted for his compatriots Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne as his top two.

More surprisingly, Spain captain Iker Casillas — the former Real Madrid goalkeeper who now plays for Portuguese club Porto — was among those who did not vote.

Despite a red carpet and plenty of glitz, the event had a low-key air of predictability about it and was held against the backdrop of FIFA going through the worst corruption crisis since it was founded in 1904.

The sport is facing criminal investigations in both Switzerland and the United States, where some leading FIFA officials are among 41 individuals and sports entities who have been indicted on corruption charges.

Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter, normally a central figure in the ceremony, was not involved after being banned for eight years by the Ethics Committee in December and there was no President’s Award, usually given out by Blatter for outstanding services to the game.

Past recipients have included Pele, former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, the Haiti national team, Queen Rania of Jordan and South African anti-apartheid activist and veteran cleric, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Acting president Issa Hayatou played a low-key role, reading a brief speech before the start and appearing on stage when the awards for best player and women’s player were presented.

Ronaldo said the players did not want to discuss FIFA’s problems.

“We avoid answering this kind of question,” he told a press conference before the ceremony.

“We are professional football players, we compete every week, every day, we train and we just focus on that. These things happen not just in football but in life, and the best thing would be no corruption anywhere.”

In terms of individual achievement, Ronaldo had slightly the better in the last year, scoring 54 goals in 52 games for Real Madrid, compared to Messi’s 48 in 53.

Chelsea’s interim manager Guus Hiddink said on Friday (Jan 8) that he is certain to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Hiddink, 69, has presided over two wins and two draws since the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December opened the door for him to return to Chelsea following a previous short-term stint in 2009.

Pep Guardiola’s announcement that he intends to move to England after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season has prompted speculation that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich could make another move for him.

In any case, Hiddink intends to leave the way clear, telling a press conference: “I’ve put two dates in my mind, which is May 21 and 28, and then it’s finished. Then I can go home on the 29.

“Those dates are FA Cup (final) and Champions League (final). We made it very clear that at the end of this, then I will stop.”

Hiddink also confirmed that Oscar has apologised to Diego Costa for the challenge that sparked a training-ground confrontation between the pair on Thursday.

Hiddink admitted that the flashpoint had come after a strong challenge by Oscar on the striker, prompting other Chelsea players to intervene and separate the duo.

But the Dutchman, who likened the players to a pair of bulls, said that Oscar would not face disciplinary action after the Brazil playmaker accepted responsibility and a line was drawn under the matter.

“It was a pity that our photographer yesterday had a day off because he could have shot beautiful pictures from the two, let’s say, bulls who were chesting a bit after a charge from behind from the smaller bull, which was Oscar,” said Hiddink, whose side host third-tier Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

“He (Costa) took a charge from behind and it was overdone, especially when you know Oscar. He is not the biggest tackler of the team and he got Diego.

“And of course, then they stumbled over the ground, stood up as a normal reaction and then chested a bit without any further seriousness or threat of punching or whatever. It was more the threat of two bulls.

“After that, Oscar apologised in front of the group. He wanted to speak. I said, ‘Take the podium.’ He apologised for his over-reacting and then they looked at each other and they started laughing. I think it’s OK.

“Jokes were made already afterwards, so it’s normal. We are used to playing on a high intensity. It happens, so it’s solved.”

HIDDINK ‘WORRIED’ ABOUT FALCAO

Asked if either player might face punishment from the club, Hiddink replied: “No, no disciplinary action. If they solved this as they have done, then it’s perfect.”

Hiddink led Chelsea to FA Cup success during his previous spell as interim manager at Stamford Bridge in 2009 and he admits the trophy is a high priority as a poor Premier League campaign rumbles on.

“When I started weeks ago I said we have to have some aims as a big club, we have to have some targets,” he told reporters at Chelsea’s training base. “Fourth place in the Premier League is difficult, but there are two targets left and one is the FA Cup, so it is a big test for this group of players.”

The Dutchman confirmed that Chelsea will start their cup campaign without injured trio Eden Hazard, Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao.

Falcao’s future at the club has come under question and Hiddink conceded that the on-loan Monaco striker’s fitness was a concern.

“I am a bit worried about this situation,” Hiddink said. “When I came in, he was injured. He started training again, then had a setback, so I gave him time to recover and we will see what will happen. He is out of sight at this moment in the squad.”

Source AFP

Vietnam climbed up one place to reach 146th position in the men’s world rankings for the first month of 2016 as announced by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on January 7.

Vietnam stood 24th in Asia and ranked third in Southeast Asia with 209 points, a nine-point increase against the previous month.

With few international matches played in late 2015 and early 2016, the January ranking saw little change, with Belgium remaining on top of the world with 1,494 points, followed by Argentina and Spain with 1,455 and 1,370 points respectively.

The top three rankings in Asia still went to Iran with 672 points (43rd in the world), the Republic of Korea with 617 points (51st in the world) and Japan with 607 points (53rd in the world).

Thailand registered the biggest hike in FIFA rankings this month, jumping 12 places to 121st in the world and first in Southeast Asia with 285 points, followed by the Philippines with 264 points (135th in the world).

Cuba saw a sharp decline of 45 places to 136th in the world with 259 points, losing 118 points compared to December 2015.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola men’s world ranking will be announced on February 4.

Source NDO