Wins the FIFA World Player of the Year Award by a huge margin

After proving his mettle by a unanimous win in the European Footballer of the Year 2009 awards, Messi has done it yet again. The Barcelona start has drubbed rival Christiano Ronaldo to lift the FIFA World Player of the Year 2009 trophy.

Source (goal.com)

Messi, who described his presence at the FIFA Gala as “the culmination of a year that cannot be improved upon”, has managed to indeed go one better, sealing the only title still evading him.

The diminutive Argentine beat off competition from the a host of the world’s best including team-mates Andreas Iniesta and Xavi, as well as Real Madrid stars Kaka and Christiano Ronaldo, with the Portuguese having already admitted that “he [Messi] will probably win the award”.

The crown capped a quite incredible year for the 22-year-old Argentinian forward who, as a pivotal member of Pep Guardiola’s all conquering Barca squad, beat Estudiantes in FIFA’s Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi on Saturday to lift their sixth title in the last 12 months.

Messi will add FIFA’s prestigious title to pretty much every individual award in European football; having already been crowned UEFA Club Forward of the Year, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Champions League Top Scorer amongst a host of other individual titles.

Messi’s incredible achievements will go down as one of the most successful seasons ever endured by a single player in club football history.

Here’s a look at the previous award winners:

France’s Zidane and Brazil’s Ronaldo have won it thrice. Last year’s winner Christiano Ronaldo was the youngest player to have won it. FIFA’s World Cup of the Year Award is indeed the most anticipated soccer honors. Here’s a list of players who have won this award in the past:

1996 Ronaldo
1997 Ronaldo
1998 Zinedine Zidane
1999 Rivaldo
2000 Zinedine Zidane
2001 Luís Figo
2002 Ronaldo
2003 Zinedine Zidane
2004 Ronaldinho
2005 Ronaldinho
2006 Fabio Cannavaro
2007 Kaka
2008 Christiano Ronaldo
2009 Lionel Messi

While you are in South Africa to catch the action live on the World Cup, here’s a list of places you must see during your stay. From historical museums to national parks, South Africa offers myriad tourist destinations to make your trip a memorable one!

Soweto’s Hector Pieterson Museum

View Larger Map

Robben Island

View Larger Map

Kruger National Park

View Larger Map

Great White Sharks

View Larger Map

Cape Winelands

View Larger Map

Macrolight, Kwazulu Natal

View Larger Map

Fugitive’s Drift

View Larger Map

Legend Golf Course

View Larger Map

The third ticketing phase for the World Cup 2010 begins on Saturday, 5^th Dec.

The third phase of ticket sales for the World Cup will begin on Saturday, the day after the draw for the finals is made. About one million tickets for all the 64 matches will be made available, including a limited number for the opening game and final.

“It’s traditionally by far the most important sales phase,” Horst R Schmidt, the chairman of the Ticketing Sub-Committee said. “As the world’s football fans will by then know who will be playing whom in the group matches,” he added.

You can apply for the tickets online through Fifa’s official website, while the South African residents can also apply by filling out the forms at the FNB branches across the country. The last date for ticket applications is 22 January. An electronic random draw would be used to decide ticket winners for oversubscribed games.

“We’re confident that our preparations for the tournament are going extremely well,” said Danny Jordaan, the chief executive officer of the World Cup organizing committee. “Now, it’s time to focus on the teams and the stars coming to South Africa 2010, for the global football world to see who their teams will be up against and for our Host Cities and residents to gear up to welcome the teams that will be heading their way. We encourage fans in South Africa and around the world to grab this chance to get tickets for what will be an unforgettable event.”

So far, a total of 674,403 tickets have been sold, corresponding to 90% of the tickets made available till now. Of those tickets, almost 53.6% have been purchased by South African residents. Fans from the United States have bought the second-most (84,103 tickets), followed by those in the United Kingdom (48,388), Germany (25,112), Australia (17,876), Canada (11,662), Switzerland (11,045), Japan (10,558) and Brazil (8,006).

All 32 participating member associations will be allocated 12% of all purchasable tickets in the stadiums where their three group games will be played. These tickets will be available through individual websites operated by the member associations.

The Barcelona star has been named the European Footballer of the Year. Beating last year’s winner Christiano Ronaldo, Messi claimed the title by the greatest margin ever recorded in the history of this august competition. Out of a possible 480 points, Lionel scored 473 – a new record, while Ronaldo managed only 233 points.

Messi wins the title by a record 473/480 points

Messi is the first registered Argentinean to have won the Ballon d’Or award. Buenos Aires-born Juventus legend Omar Sivori won the title in 1961, but at the time he was a registered Italian. The 22 year old soccer star is also the youngest player to have won the Ballon d’Or award after Michael Owen, who won this title at an age of 21 in the year 2001.

Messi will be presented with his award on Sunday, 6^th December at a gala event in Paris.

The victory also makes him a strong contender for the FIFA Footballer of the Year award to be announced later this month.

Messi’s Score Card:

——————

With the government rejecting Evertons’ plea for a new stadium, and Liverpool’s revamp of their training ground on hold due to financial crunch, the two rival clubs may soon share a common training ground.

No new stadium for Everton. The club’s plans to move to a new stadium on the outskirts of the city of Liverpool have been cut short by the British government. Reportedly, Everton was part of a proposed 400-million-pound development program that included a 50,000-capacity ground and a shopping complex in Kirkby.

Apparently the plan has been rejected because the proposal goes against the government policy which discourages major supermarket chains from taking business away from town and city centers.

“Obviously, we are all bitterly disappointed with the decision as we felt that — along with our two partners — we had compiled and presented a most compelling case for the Destination Kirby project,” the club’s chief executive Robert Elstone told www.evertonfc.com

“We will now regroup and carefully consider the options which are open to us. I feel I must stress that we do remain totally committed to finding a new home for our football club. The hunt for that new home will now intensify, “ Esltone added.

This is not the first time that Everton’s plans have met dead ends. Earlier this year too, their plan to revamp their training ground to raise funds was also rejected. With city rivals Liverpool’s plans for a new ground on hold because of financial concerns, the two rival clubs may end up sharing a common ground.

Today, the unthinkable may happen in the history of soccer.

Football giants Barcelona and Liverpool are on the verge of elimination from the Champions league. This would be the first time in the history of Champions League that winner clubs are ousted at a group stage.

While Bracelona’s reign as Champions Cup holder is at stake due to an attack of swine flu on its prominent players, five-times winner Liverpool’s stay in the league is challenged by a series of injuries. The fate of the two clubs would be determined today as they get on the field for their do or die matches.

Will Barcelona make it?

Barcelona’s tryst could be cut short if the Spanish club loses to Inter Milan and group rival Rubin Kazan beats Dynamo Kiev. With Lionel Messi ‘s leg injury and defender Eric Abidal and midfielder Yaya Toure, down with swine flu, the club would have to miss out on its best talents in today’s crucial match.

Even if Barca finishes level on points with Rubin after the last round of qualifying, Ruin would still have the advantage as the Russian club won in Barcelona and played a scoreless draw in Kazan.

Liverpool is on the verge of elimination with five points to make up on second place Fiorentina.  Rafa Benitez’s team goes to Hungary to face Debrecen and even a victory won’t be enough to keep them in the league if Fiorentina beats Lyon at home. With a recent series of drubbings (one win in 10 games) Liverpool’s chances of a comeback seem bleak.  With striker Fernando Torres is out of the lineup because of a groin problem and two more players picking up injuries in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City, Liverpool too would miss on its best players for their crucial faceoff against Debrecen.

Will Victory Evade Liverpool?

Soccer is an immensely popular sport in the United States of America. Interestingly, USA is the only country which has yielded skilled players in numerous foreign leagues. Among the first Americans to become regulars in foreign leagues were John Harkes at Sheffield Wednesday in England, Eric Wynalda at Saarbrücken in Germany, Kasey Keller at Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany, and Earnie Stewart at NAC Breda in the Netherlands.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Caption- Hark’s was one of the pioneer American players to play for foreign leagues

Here’s a list of Americans playing in foreign leagues:

In Croatia’s Prva Nogometna Liga

* Johann Smith (Rijeka)

In Denmark’s Superliga

* Danny Califf (Midtjylland)

* Benny Feilhaber (AGF)

* Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjælland)

* Marcus Tracy (Aalborg)

* Jeremiah White (AGF)

In England’s Premier League

* Jozy Altidore (Hull City)

* Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

* Brad Friedel (Aston Villa)

* Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)

* Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

* Tim Howard (Everton)

* Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

* Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa)

* Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

In England’s Football League Championship

* Jay Demerit (Watford)

* Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday)

In England’s Football League One

* Mike Grella (Leeds United)

* Jemal Johnson (Milton Keynes Dons)

* Ian Joyce (Southend United)

* Jon-Paul Pittman (Wycombe Wanderers)

* Zak Whitbread (Millwall)

In France’s Ligue 1

* Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes)

* Charlie Davies (Sochaux)

In Germany’s Fußball-Bundesliga

* Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

* Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)

* Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)

In Germany’s 2. Fußball-Bundesliga

* Kenny Cooper (1860 Munich)

* Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern)

* Matt Taylor (Frankfurt)

* David Yelldell (Koblenz)

In Italy’s Serie A

* Oguchi Onyewu (Milan)

In Italy’s Lega Pro Prima Divisione

* Gabriel Ferrari (Foggia)

In Mexico’s Primera División

* Edgar Castillo (UANL Tigres)

* Michael Orozco (San Luis)

* José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

* Marco Vidal (Indios)

In Norway’s Tippeligaen

* Mikkel Diskerud (Stabæk)

* Clarence Goodson (Start)

* Hunter Freeman (Start)

* Troy Perkins (Vålerenga)

In Portugal’s Liga

* Freddy Adu (Belenenses)

* Kamani Hill (Vitória)

In Scotland’s Premier League

* DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers)

* Maurice Edu (Rangers)

In Sweden’s Allsvenskan

* Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro)

(Ref: BBC News)

Tributes have been placed at the scene of Robert Enke’s death.

Germany and Hannover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke has died after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, police have confirmed. Enke, 32, was fatally injured at a level crossing north west of Hanover.

The German football federation (DFB) said in a statement: “The German team has learned of the death of Robert Enke with great shock.”

A statement released by the German indicates a suicide- “The victim is apparently national team goalkeeper Robert Enke from Hannover 96. The first police indications are that it was a suicide.”

Enke was reportedly struck by a regional train travelling between Norddeich and Hannover at a railway crossing in Neustadt am Rubenberge and died on the spot.

Enke had played eight times for Germany and also for clubs Carl Zeiss Jena, Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica, Barcelona, Fenerbahce and Tenerife, before returning to the Bundesliga with Hannover in 2004. He made his international debut aged 29 and became Germany’s number one keeper after Jens Lehmann retired from internationals at the end of Euro 2008.

Robert Enke

Born: 24/8/77, Jena, East Germany
Debut: 1995-96
Clubs: Carl Zeiss Jena, Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica, Barcelona, Fenerbahce, Tenerife, Hannover 96
Germany debut: 27/3/07 versus Denmark Caps: 8

Michael Owen has missed his bus to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The English manager, Fabio Capello has refused to recall the Manchester United striker for the England squad to play in Brazil next Saturday. (Source: The DailyMail)

According to the Daily Mail, the England manager, who would be at Stamford Bridge for the face-off between Premier League champions United and current leaders Chelsea, will not call on Owen in the World Cup squad.

Capello does not consider Owen’s recent form for United to be sufficient to merit a recall.

The English Manager feels that Owen’s performance is not good enough to merit an entry in the World Cup squad.

Capello does not consider Owen’s recent form for United, in which he has started three games of the past six and scored two goals, to be sufficient to merit a recall. Capello is reportedly favoring Jermain Defoe as a standby to Wayne Rooney.

On being questioned about excluding Owen who has scored 40 goals for England in 89 appearances, was now fit, scoring goals and playing for United, the England manager sad, “ ‘He has played one game,” referring to his midweek start against CSKA Moscow, in which he scored. ‘I will be at Chelsea to check him – if he plays,” Capello added.

Former European Footballer of the Year Owen, once an iconic member of the team and scorer of one of the most memorable World Cup goals at France 98 when just an 18-year-old, has played only once for England during Capello’s reign as manager, against France in March 2008.

With just one friendly match left before Capello finalizes his squad for South Africa next summer, Owen’s only chance would be if there were an abnormal number of injuries in the team.  Even though Carlton Cole is out with a hamstring injury it will be of no help to Owen, as Capello is expected to retain Rooney, Defoe, Heskey and Crouch, with Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor  as reserves for the place of a fifth striker.

Here’s the expected English squad – Goalkeepers: James, Green, and Foster. Defenders: Johnson, Brown, Terry, Ferdinand, Lescott, Upson, Cahill, A Cole, Bridge. Midfielders: Barry, Beckham, Carrick, Lampard, Milner, Gerrard, Wright- Phillips. Forwards: Rooney, Heskey, Defoe, Crouch, Agbonlahor.

The dynamic website integrates latest game news and statistics from all across the globe, player profiles, galleries, live forums and much more for a never-like-before- football experience.

Your search for a complete source of latest football news, football player profiles and pictures ends here. Ifotbol.com has revamped its functions to give you a never-like-before soccer experience. Right from looking up your favorite players’ profiles and pictures to latest football news and videos, there’s a lot you can do and explore in a few clicks.

3-D image wall with latest football player pictures

Ifotbol.com not only gives you unlimited access to live football news, football soccer results, and football stats, but also lest you play fun games with opportunities to win great prizes and much more. Whether it is the UEFA champions league, English Premier League, FIFA world cup or any other soccer tournament, ifotbol.com offers you the current updates constantly.

Ifotbol.com also gives you the freedom to customize your ifotbol home page and highlight your favorite football player, match or event. You can also display the news you are interested in and follow your favorite teams, including FC Barcelona, Manchester United news, and Real Madrid news.

Via ifotbol.com , you can connect with other football fans around the world, invite friends to join or search to find people who are already members of ifotbal.com.
With the FIFA fever building up already, ifotbol.com is THE football destination to be in!

Multi Pronged Benefits for Fans and Clubs

Ifotbol not only serves as a one stop source for complete football info, it also presents a grand opportunity to various local clubs and teams to promote themselves. Any upcoming player, club or team from any country can register itself with ifotbol and instantly start building online communities. In addition, frequent contributing and commenting on ifotbol forums, helps these players and clubs to establish an identity amongst fellow clubs and players. With no fee or subscription charges, the website is a rife promotional platform for new and upcoming clubs and players.

Ifotbol.com Offers

Here’s a quick look at what ifotbol has in store for you:

• Unlimited and instant access to football news from all across the globe
• Updates on 60 National/International Tournaments
• 10,000 player profiles
• 350 club profiles
• Map directions to match venues
• Tournament tickets discounts
• Multiple gadgets to customize site
• Language customization
• Building personal football communities
• Play and win offers