Player Awards

[beachesl]

FIFA announced 10 Nominees for Golden Ball, a mvp of tournament, Friday.

No complaining about Xavi, but I think Iniesta has been the big light in Spain.

A lot will depend on what happens Saturday and Sunday, but I am personally rooting for Forlan.

------------------
Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Architect of the team’s attack, very influential, great impact for his team, provider of quality final passes, goal scorer, set pieces/shots from long range

Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
Huge work rate, efficient, good dribbler, creates problems to each defence, good goal scorer

Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Very fine ball-playing attacking midfielder, a star for the team, impressive dribbling ability

Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficient

Mesut Oezil (Germany)
A real talent for the present and the future, quick feet and great vision, good final and decisive passes

Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Very good pace and dribbling skills, wonderful ability to cut inside from the right, effective to his team

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Impressive by his first pass (forward and accurate), very good passer, has moments of individual brilliance, ball-winner

Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
A maestro in midfield, exceptional work rate, the engine of Netherland’s attacks, excellent passer and scorer

David Villa (Spain)
Top scorer; quick, two footed, very good on one-on-one situations, provides good final passes, excellent finisher

Xavi (Spain)
The metronome and the engine of the Spanish team, very influential in the passing style of the game, one of the finest midfielders in the tournament

[beachesl]

Mueller should win best youth hands down. Oezil just missed age cutooff, born in November, 1988.
----------------
Best Young Player shortlist announced
(FIFA.com) Friday 9 July 2010
FIFA.comFIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) today announced the shortlist for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award consisting of the three best young players in this year’s FIFA World Cup™. The award continues the tradition of officially recognising the positive impact made by young footballers and is open to all participating players born on or after 1 January 1989. The final winner will be selected by the FIFA TSG and announced on FIFA.com after the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Final. The winner will receive the coveted Hyundai Best Young Player Award trophy and a new Hyundai Tucson ix 35.

The emergence of young footballing talent on the world stage is one of the joys of any FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is no exception. These burgeoning young stars may have been relatively unknown before the opening ceremony in Johannesburg, but there is little doubt that the three nominated for the prestigious Hyundai Best Young Player Award shortlist can become household names for many years to come.

All three of the young players shortlisted today have demonstrated exceptional skills during the tournament as well as youthful and refreshing playing styles combined with tactical maturity. Furthermore, their creativity has served as an inspiration to all and earned fan recognition for their performances.

The Hyundai Best Young Player Award is one of the official FIFA awards and is selected by the Technical Study Group, a FIFA-appointed group of top football coaches and analysts, whose director Jean-Paul Brigger is a former Swiss international, Swiss domestic league champion with FC Sion and the country’s Player of the Year in 1992. He is also a five-time winner of the Swiss Cup and was named Swiss coach of the year in 1995. Other prominent members of the TSG are Christian Karembeu, Gérard Houllier, Holger Osieck, Kalusha Bwalya and Ephraim Matsilele “Jomo” Sono.

Nominees for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa:

Thomas Mueller (GER): Thomas Mueller’s rapid rise through the senior football ranks has been nothing short of remarkable. A fringe player with his club, Bayern Munich, just two seasons ago, and with a first international cap coming only in March of this year (presciently, a friendly against Argentina), the 20-year-old striker has captured the imagination of fans everywhere with his pulsating approach play and vital goals (4) and assists (3).

Giovani Dos Santos (MEX): Still only 21, Giovani Dos Santos is one of the most famous faces in the Mexico squad. “Gio”, who played much of the most recent club season on loan to Turkish side Galatasaray, burst on to the scene aged 16 when he showed prodigious technique and vision in helping Mexico to victory in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru in 2005. The super-nimble young forward has become a key cog in the attractive Tricolor team and looks sure to be around for years to come.

Andre Ayew (GHA): The son of Black Stars legend Abedi Pele, ”Dede” Ayew is used to living his young life in the footballing spotlight and he has handled the attention with great poise. He already became a world champion with the U-20s in Ghana last year. As an attacking midfielder, Ayew has become an important part of Ghana’s playing system with a successful pass rate of 85 per cent.

[RJB]

Mueller for sure for the young player award, especially after todays goal put him on five for the tournament. If the 2006 final learned us anything, it's that a players performance in the final has no effect on the vote. Robben, or Xavi or any of the above would be worthy winners, but I truly believe that Forlan has been the top all round player this tournament.

[canucklefan]

Since no one scored 6 goals in the tournament, give it to Forlan.

[beachesl]

Forlan rightly gets golden ball, and Mueller gets both youth and golden boot (breaking tie with the most assists, a hockey concept imported to football).

[Scottie]

Forlan definitely deserved it. Uruguay might not have scored a goal in the group stage without him, and he was a true leader by example throughout the tournament.

[jpoma]

Forlan definitely deserved it. Uruguay might not have scored a goal in the group stage without him, and he was a true leader by example throughout the tournament.

I was very impressed by his dead ball play this tournament.