Fifa World Player of the Year

Drum roll please..

The winner will be announced January 12th so plenty of time for debate.

So here is the list in all its glory. Marked in different shades of red are my favorites and my reasons why below:

• Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
• Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid and Argentina)
  
• Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg and Russia)
  
• Michael Ballack (Chelsea and Germany)
  
• Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus and Italy)
  
• Iker Casillas (Real Madrid and Spain)
  
• Deco (Chelsea and Portugal)
  
• Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
  
• Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona and Cameroon)
  
• Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal and Spain)
  
• Steven Gerrard (Liverpool and England)
  
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan and Sweden)
  
• Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain)
  
• Kaka (AC Milan and Brazil)
  
• Frank Lampard (Chelsea and England)
  
• Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
  
• Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)
  
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Portugal)
  
• John Terry (Chelsea and England)
  
• Fernando Torres (Liverpool and Spain)
  
• Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid and Netherlands)
  
• David Villa (Valencia and Spain)
  
• Xavi (Barcelona and Spain).
  

Andrei Arshavin

If football is about entertainment, then we have to give a tip of the hat to the Russian play maker. He captivated us in Euro 2008 with his brilliant midfield awareness. Pulling Russia out of their rough start, he single-handedly changed the Russian team from a boring lull against Spain to a powerful total football team that silenced one of the most impressive Dutch teams in years. What impressed me so much about his performance in the Euro was his ability to breathe life into the team and inspire his teammates with beautifully strung together passes. And lets not forget, he helped Zenit lift the Russian Prem trophy for the first time in a long time

Ikre Casillas

Deep down in my heart, I think Casillas should win this. First of all, he has all the credentials. Top of La Liga,won Euro 2008, he did everything he needed to for club and country. He kept a clean sheet on the Euro final, and did some awe-inspiring saves in the 2007-08 season of La Liga. He communicates as a strong leader for his back line and saved Spain against Italy when Buffon could not.
If you can win La Liga, win the Euro and beat the supposed best keeper in the world with a magnificent save in a Semi-Final match then I think you can qualify for player of the world.

Kaka

He won last year. He is amazing. But not as good as last year + injury stuff = probably not going to get it. Not really sure why I put him on here, if he wins it really will be by grace of god.

Messi

The most exciting player in the world to watch right now. He is what Ronahdinho was 3 years ago. He boggles your mind and baffles defenders with his movement and motion with the ball.

Because he has generally been seen as the highest standard of creative quality within the football community this year, this makes him a strong contender. He will be in the top 3 for sure.

Cristiano Ronaldo

He was on fire in the EPL this year. Absolutely unstoppable. Then came the summer. Everyone held their breath to see him play in Scolari's Portugal, but he did not deliver the caliber of play fans have expected from him. We hoped to see him blow through Turkish defenders and dismantle the entire Swiss team...he didn't. Then came that messy transfer drama with Real Madrid. This really put me off. I'm not sure if Fifa takes into consideration a players off the pitch behavior when considering these nominees, but for me, he didn't display the kind of professionalism in his career that a player of his level should.

All my whining and bellyaching aside, the guys a genius, and many regard him as a favorite to win this reward.

Fernado Torres

Looking up at my list, most of these are "creative midfielders". Its always easy to pick the midfielder. They have long ranged shots that impress and there aren't high expectations on them to put away the goals. That being said, Torres was the most dangerous striker in the EPL this year. He was absolutely on fire and was a menace for any defender. Top striker on this list for sure, but it will be a squeeze for him to get in the top 3.


My top 3:

1. Casillas
2. Messi
3. Ronaldo