The Ballon d'Or Shortlist Has Been Announced!

From the initial list of 30 nominees, 10 contenders have been shortlisted for the prestigious Ballon d'Or world footballer of the year award. Here, we will look at these ten world class footballers and their achievement for the year 2009.

1. Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast)
English FA Cup winner 2009
English FA Community Shield winner 2009



2. Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan, Cameroon)
Holder of most La Liga appearance by an African footballer
Joint third highest goalscorer in Barcelona history
One of two players to have scored in two UEFA Champions League Final
UEFA Champions League winner 2009
Spanish La Liga winner 2009
Spanish Copa del Rey winner 2009


3. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England)
English FA Premier League runner-up 2009
Football Writers Association Footballer of The Year 2009
PFA Fan's Player of the Year 2009
Selected into the PFA Team of the Year 2009


4. Zlatan Ibrahimovich (Barcelona, Sweden)
Capocannoniere winner (Top goal scorer) in Serie A 2008-2009
Second highest transfer fee in football history 2009
Sweden Footballer of the Year 2009
Italian Serie A winner 2009
UEFA Super Cup winner 2009
Italian Serie A Player of the Year 2009
Italian Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 2009


5. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain)
Spanish La Liga winner 2009
Spanish Copa del Rey winner 2009
UEFA Champions League winner 2009
Supercopa de España winner 2009
UEFA Super Cup winner 2009
Don Balón Award for Best Spanish Player of the Year 2009
Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano Runner-up 2009
Voted by La Liga as Best Attacking Midfielder 2009


6. Kaka (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Ranked no. 134 in the 2009 Time 100 Finalist
FIFA Confederations Cup winner 2009
FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball winner 2009
Placed in FIFA Confederations Cup Best XI 2009


7. Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
Spanish La Liga winner 2009
Spanish Copa del Rey 2009
Supercopa de España winner 2009
UEFA Champions League winner 2009
UEFA Super Cup winner 2009
Premio Don Balón (Best Foreign Player in La Liga) winner 2009
EFE Trophy (Best Ibero-American Player in La Liga) winner 2009
UEFA Champions League Top Scorer 2009
Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano 2009
UEFA Club Forward of the Year 2009
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year 2009
La Liga Best Player of the Year 2009
La Liga Best Striker 2009
Onze d'Or winner 2009



8. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
Most expensive player and record transfer fee in football history 2009
English FA Premier League winner 2009
English League Cup winner 2009
Selected into PFA Premier League Team of the Year 2009
Spokesmodel for Emporio Armani 2009



9. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, England)
English FA Premier League winner 2009




10. Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona, Spain)
Spanish La Liga winner 2009
Spanish Copa del Rey 2009
Supercopa de España winner 2009
UEFA Champions League winner 2009
UEFA Super Cup winner 2009
Selected into UEFA Team of the Year 2009
UEFA Champions League Most Assists 2009
UEFA Club Best Midfielder 2009
La Liga Best Midfielder 2009



On pure 2009 achievement alone, Lionel Messi is a shoo-in for the Ballon d'Or 2009 award and very much welcomed by fans and industry. The results will be known on the 1st December 2009.

2009 Ballon d'Or (The Golden Ball) Nominees Unveiled!

The 30-man list of nominees for the 2009 Ballon d'Or has been announced. The list consisted of a Who's Who of European football. The most glaring thing is that there is no Italian player nominated in the top 30.

2009 Ballon d'Or Nominees

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Xavi (Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Barcelona)
David Villa (Valencia)
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)
Diego (Juventus)
Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)
Maicon (Inter Milan)
Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)

Lionel Messi is arguably the favourite for this award this year. Adidas launched a video viral as a tribute to the player. Messi is known as "The Spark" in the Adidas brainchild "Every Team Needs..." series. In this series, Zinedine Zidane goes on a mission around the world to find the perfect eleven.

I would expect a high number of votes to come for Cristiano Ronaldo. Unlike other ex-Man Utd deserters, Ronaldo has done well in Real Madrid and his importance was emphasized by his absence in Real's only defeat to Sevilla. Too bad that he is now cursed by a hex placed on him by a voodoo attacker who is hired by a jilted lover. The description of this jilted lovers bears resemblance to a certain Paris Hilton. In the midst of all these nonsense, I hope that the 2008 Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo recovers quickly from his ankle injury and continue to shine for club and country.

This was Cristiano Ronaldo's moment, accepting the award in 2008.

My Ballon d'Or vote however goes to Cesc Fabregas who has really impressed me this season. He is the leader of the pack in Arsenal and his displays in the English Premier League have been awesome thus far.

The winner for this year's Ballon d'Or will be announced on 1st Dec 2009.