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Filed under: FIFA World Cup, Netherlands, Spain

Diego Forlan wins the Golden Ball award at the 2010 World Cup after leading Uruguay to a fourth-place finish in the tournament.

The Golden Ball, given to the best player at the FIFA World Cup, was awarded to Forlan over Spain’s David Villa and the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder, who finished second and third respectively in the voting.

Forlan tallied five goals in the tournament and was also in the running for the Golden Boot award, but that honor went to Germany’s Thomas Müller, who won the tiebreaker with most assists. It’s the first time since 1990 that neither award winner played in the final match. Salvatore Schillaci won the 1990 Golden Ball despite Italy’s loss to Argentina in the semifinals that year.

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“It’s as great as it is unexpected,” Forlan told FIFA.com after winning the award. “I never even imagined something like this, nor did I have my sights set on it.”

Forlan, despite playing with a leg injury in Uruguay’s third-place game against Germany, scored a volley and also hit the crossbar with a kick at the last minute in a 3-2 defeat on Saturday. Forlan became the first player since Lothar Matthaus in 1990 to score three goals outside the penalty area in one tournament.

Even in triumph, the 31-year-old star said he’s heading home with bittersweet feelings. “Losing the semifinal was a really cruel blow, which took me a couple of days to get over and which I still find hard to swallow,” Forlan told FIFA.com.

Forlan drew raves for his two-goal performance against South Africa in the first round and he scored Uruguay’s only goals in the quarterfinal and semifinal. With his skill and knack for goals, the Atlético Madrid striker carried Uruguay to its best showing since the 1970 World Cup.

While he hasn’t received his golden trophy yet, Forlan didn’t waste any time in sharing the reward with his teammates. “I’d also like to highlight those lads who didn’t play much or didn’t feature at all,” Forlan said. “Those guys make up the backbone of the squad and this award is for them too.”

 

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Fanhouse Soccer

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Netherlands, Spain, Uruguay

JOHANNESBURG — FIFA has unveiled the 10 adidas Golden Ball nominees for the award given to the World Cup’s most outstanding player. While it’s no surprise that some of the inclusions and omissions are pretty puzzling — several winners over the years have been downright bizarre — there really are only two or three legitimate candidates for the award.

That doesn’t mean one of them will get it, however. The 10 players were selected by FIFA’s Technical Study Group, a collection of “football experts” comprised of former players, coaches and officials. The media will vote on the final winner, and if the past is any indication, which it often is, they’ll get it wrong.

So, even though Lionel Messi will probably win, here’s a rundown of the 10 nominees (in the order they were listed by FIFA) and a look at their chances, measured from one to five Golden Jabulanis. The winner will be announced after Sunday’s final between Spain and the Netherlands.

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Fanhouse Soccer

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Uruguay

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The MVP award seems to be an American invention, and the rest of the world clearly is still getting the hang of the idea. FIFA, soccer’s governing body, instituted its player-of-the-year award less than 20 years ago, and there’s been an official World Cup honor– the Golden Ball — since 1982. In those seven World Cups, the media selected to vote for the award has gotten it wrong more often than not. Especially recently.

In 1998, Brazil’s Ronaldo won it despite being outscored by three other players in the competition, having an awful final and not being France’s Zinedine Zidane or Lilian Thuram, both of whom played at a historically outstanding level as Les Bleus won the Cup. Four years later, karma came back to bite the bucktoothed Brazilian as German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn scooped up the trophy. Ronaldo scored eight goals, the most in a World Cup since 1974, including two against Kahn in the final.

The voters screwed it up again in 2006, giving the award to Zidane largely based on his performance against Brazil in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Italy’s Andrea Pirlo was that good in every game, masterfully pulling the strings in the Azzurri midfield and having a hand (or foot) in just about every key play for the champions.

 

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Fanhouse Soccer

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