The Ballon d’Or Gala takes place in Zurich this evening and with the main prize of the night, the Ballon d’Or, widely expected to go to Lionel Messi the main areas of interest will be the award for coach of the year, the FIFA XI of 2012 and the Puskas award, for goal of the year.
The FIFA XI is expected to be heavily populated by Real Madrid/Barca players, while the three nominees for the coach of the year are Vicente Del Bosque (Spain), Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid) and Pep Guardiola (form. Barcelona). When you put that grouping of Spanish based coaches alongside the Ball d’Or itself being an all Madrid/Barcelona affair it might seem as if world club football has shrunk to a two team game.
The Puskas award offers some relief from Clasico dominance as all 3 goals come from outside the boundaries of Spain’s most heated rivalry. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s overhead kick against England was not eligible for consideration due to it falling outside the voting date. Which essentially devalues this award hugely, but nevertheless the three goals chosen are magnificent goals.
Three players will contest the award-
Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) v America de Cali
Miroslav Stoch (Fenerbahce) v Genclerbirligi
¿El gol del año para Miroslav Stoch? by Fichajes
Neymar (Santos) v Internacional