WORLD SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Lionel MESSI 2011
Regaining the crow wn…the 2009 winner tops the 20 011 poll
Recordbreaking enigma
L
ionel Messi is the overwhelming choice as World Soccer’s Soccer’ World Player of the Year. The brilliant Barcelona and Argentina ace collected more than 60 per cent of the votes cast in our annual poll – an all-time record. It is the second time Messi has topped the World Soccer poll. He was the victor in 2009, but lost out to his Barca team-mate Xavi last year. Xavi finished third this time, behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Portugal. There were three Barca players in the top ten – Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta – while five of the top ten play in La Liga. Brazilian starlet Neymar is the only player in the top ten based outside of Europe. The Santos youngster finished sixth in the World Player poll, but won the Young Player award ahead of Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Gotze. Barcelona cleaned up, winning the Team award and coach Pep Guardiola chosen as Manager of the Year. But it is Messi once again who take the plaudits. At the age of just 24 he has amassed an astonishing CV, with the standout moments from an impressive list of individual and collective honours being the five La Liga-winning sides he has
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PLAYER OF THE YEAR
been part of and the two Champions League final victories he played in. So, as he is crowned World Player of the Year again, just what else does Messi have left to achieve? Well, in his homeland not everyone is fully convinced yet, and they point to a glaring gap in that impressive list of honours. They believe that Messi has still to deliver for his country. “Messi is the best player in the world,” said Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella recently. “He plays extraordinarily well for Barcelona, so then when he plays just well for Argentina it seems like he is underperforming.”
The most tangible, and indeed most impressive, aspect of Messi’s game is, of course, his scoring record. Since Frank Rijkaard handed him his Barca debut in 2004, his strike rate has continued to improve every year, culminating with a staggering 53 goals in 55 matches by the end of the 2010-11 season. In the current campaign he averages better than a goal every game and may well reach Cesar Rodriguez’s club record of 235 goals by the end of this term. Factoring in an assist for every two goals that he scores, his form is nothing short of sensational. But the contrast between his displays for Argentina and those for
Messi magic… celebrating his goal in the 2011 Champions League final
