Messi up for 5th Ballon d’Or

Ballon d’Or gala to be held this pm; Argentinean well positioned to take world best player crown

Messi goes for 5th Ballon d’Or

At 18:30 on January 11th the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or gala will begin in Zurich. Over the course of the event, prizes will be awarded to the Men’s World Player (the Ballon d’Or itself), the Women’s World Player, both the Men’s and Women’s World Coach, the FIFA FIFPro World XI, the Puskas Award for the Best Goal and Fair Play Award. Unless there is a last-minute surprise, Lionel Messi will win his fifth Ballon d’Or prize. After two years in second place, the Argentinean has come back strongly and last season saw the very best version of him. The question now is how the podium will look. Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar will be second and third, but it is unclear who will be in which position. The Brazilian had a great 2014-15 season, winning practically everything with Barcelona and has been one of the most surprising players over the course of the current campaign. Ronaldo, although he has not had his best year ever, has still won his fourth Goledn Shoe, and his goal-scoring figures are still off the chart. Many think that Luis Suárez should have taken the third place on the shortlist instead of the Portuguese player, but Ronaldo is back among the best three in the world for the fifth year running.

The Ballon d’Or is not the only prize that Leo Messi stands a chance of winning. The Argentinean is among the finalists for the Puskas Award for the goal he scored against Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey final. Alessandro Florenzi, with his goal from the centre line against Barça in the Champions League, and Wendell Lira, with a marvellous volleyed goal, are the other two finalists for that award.

Luis Enrique is tipped to win the Men’s World Coach award, having won practically everything with Barcelona last season, except the Spanish Super Cup, which Athletic Club took. He would be the third Spanish coach to pick up the award in the last four years, after Pep Guardiola and Vicente Del Bosque. Among the candidates for the Women’s World Coach award, the favourite is Jill Ellis, the United States team coach, winner of the Women’s World Cup played in Canada last summer.

The Fair Play and the FIFA FIFPro World XI awards complete the evening. Everything points to Barcelona having several representatives in the Best XI, and it remains to be seen how many Real Madrid players are selected.