Nick Ames's report
So Ronaldo wins the Fifa player of the year award for the fourth time in five years. That’s five awards apiece for him and Messi, the Argentinian’s golden period coming when he won four in a row between 2009 and 2012. Next year will sure be interesting. Will it? Only marginally. Olivier Giroud will be pleased with his night’s work. Makes a change from sitting on the bench in the Premier League at least. And peace even broke out among the women after the shortlist caused such controversy. Martens is a worthy winner, and Lloyd showed her enduring class … Thanks for joining. Bye
Congratulations and well deserved @liekemartens1 on winning #thebest! Also congrats to @deynac18 on your nomination! All the best 2 u both!
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) October 23, 2017
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Ronaldo may be happy, but some pf you guys are less so. Francis Mead reignites an old debate from last season.
“Mkhitaryan’s goal was better than Giroud’s,” he writes. “Similar, but faster ball, harder to execute - if Giroud’s was judged better than the others, Miki’s goal was another notch better”
Cristiano Ronaldo wins Fifa player of the year
Ronaldo wins it. Well deserved. He had another incredible year and to lead Real to retaining the Champions League was some feat. And what a complete player. And he shares a smile with his son. Maybe he gets a bad press. He thanks everyone he’s ever met, and gives a nod to Maradona. “I’m so happy guys, thank you very much and good night,” he finishes.
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And now Ronaldo steps up, not that one. The old one. The goal machine who’s now rather rotund. With another tubby legend; Maradona. They share a joke and we are reminded of the genius of Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar in a video montage. What a performance that was from Neymar for Barca against PSG. Will it be enough to cause a shock. No way. Surely.
Lieke Martens wins Fifa women's player of the year
Martens wins it. She was sensational in Holland’s stunning run to Euro 2017 glory. He skills were breathtaking and she’s still only 24. Here’s a reminder …
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Time for the best women’s player. Can the unknown Deyna Castellanos topple Carli Loyd or Lieke Martens?
While we gear up for the major awards of the night Kasabian hit the stage. Ronaldo and Messi are unmoved in the front room. Surely Cristiano enjoys a little jive of an evening. Messi probably just practises his free-kicks. Ranieri gets a hug. These guys are Leicester mad. Ronaldo’s son gets a fist pump. Touch.
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A tweet. I fear it’s a bit of a mickey take though. I’m still injured Tom. Honest …
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How the world XI might line up
The Fifa world team of year is announced
The Fifa Dream Team has been named, and here it is (4-4-3); Buffon, Alves, Marcelo, Ramos, Bonucci; Modric, Kroos, Iniesta; Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar.
Difficult to argue with much of that team. But Iniesta? Was he that good last year? At least the announcement might cheer up Bonucci though …
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Francis Koné wins Fifa fair play award
One of my favourites next and it’s the Fifa fair play award. “This award shows more than any other the power of football and its ability to touch peoples’ lives the world over,” we are told. “And there can only be one winner”. That man is Francis Koné. For anyone who doesn’t remember, this is why he’s won …
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Sarina Wiegman wins women’s coach of the year
Holland won Euro 2017 in fine style so naturally Wiegman takes the Fifa award. She’s not here though, but she tells us she’s happy in a video recorded yesterday. What! I thought no one knew the results. Who do i call about this?
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It’s Pelé’s birthday. He’s 77 today. Or is it 78. He gets some birthday wishes before Ruud Gullit and Arsenal’s Alex Scott announce the nominations fort best women’s coach. Nils Nielsen of Denmark, Gerard Precheur of France and Sarina Wiegman of Holland are shortlisted for their work at Euro 2017.
Celtic win best fans award
Glory for Celtic, primarily for honouring the ‘Lisbon Lions’ with stunning 360-degree card display on 50th anniversary of historic European Cup win.
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Next up is the fans awards. Awarded to the fans, voted by the fans. Celtic, Borussia Dortmund and FC Copenhagen make up the shortlist for this one with Samuel Eto’o doing the awards.
A short break in the awards allows the audience to reflect that football is only a game. RIP Bradley …
Gianlugi Buffon wins goalkeeper of the year
Buffon gets it. Legend. Will he ever stop? “It’s a great honour to receive this award at my age,” he says. The man’s only 39. He can go on for years. For now though he just wants to win the Champions League with Juventus and the World Cup with Italy. Aim high squire.
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Peter Schmeichel takes to the stage to announce the best goalkeeper awards. Gigi Buffon, Keylor Navas and Manuel Neuer are the candidates
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Zinedine Zidane wins coach of the year
Zidane wins, and looking suave as ever in a dickie bow, Zidane flits between English, French and Spanish. In Spanish he says he loves his wife, and name checks his best players “Ronaldo, Marcelo, Toni, Luca, thank you”. Thanks to Madrid he says with a beaming smile, and strolls off
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Next up is coach of the year, and Claudio Ranieri will call this one. In his unique style, the Tinkerman calls Conte, Allegri and Zidane “quite simply, legends on their own touchlines”.
“It’s an honour,” says Giroud, looking dashing as ever. He gives kisses to his children watching on TV and dedicates the trophy to his dad.
Olivier Giroud wins Ferenc Puskas award for goal of the year
Neymar and Antonio Conte reckon Giroud should win it, while Kane shows no bias by opting for Masuluke. The odd couple of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Diego Forlan are the ones in the know though, and it is Giroud. Great goal lad, but nothing beats this.
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So the first gong of the night is the Ferenc Puskas award for goal of the year. Olivier Giroud is in there for his scorpion kick, and Kevin-Price Boateng, Mario Mandzukic and Nemanja Matic made the shortlist. Personally, I love this one from Oscarine Masuluke.
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Idris Elba is the host for the night. Fifa thinking outside the box. Idris says “Alright, bruv” to the people of Hackney before grabbing selfie’s with the big players and shaking hands with Cristiano Ronaldo’s son.
Mercifully the green carpet nonsense is over, and it’s time for the awards. Here’s Neymar’s plum suit though for anyone who cares…
Everyone seems to be backing Ronaldo for the big one tonight, but if it was a popularity contest surely Messi would win. Neymar seems to be taking the Ronaldo route to superstardom though …
Antonio Conte is in the house, hoping to snare the coach of the year award. He’s up against Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane, the first manager to lead a club to back-to-back European titles in the Champions League era, and Massimo Allegri of Juventus, who Real beat in the final. No pressure then. Whatever happens though, at least he’s made the top three, eh José.
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Ronaldo appears on the green carpet but blanks our hapless hosts for the night, just as Messi did earlier. Neymar, replete with dapper red suit, is more accommodating. He says he is delighted to be here tonight and is looking forward to the World Cup with Brazil. Show-stopping stuff.
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Sol Campbell is here. And he’s pinned his colours to the mast. “You have to recognise what Ronaldo has done this year,” he says. The conversation quickly turns to Harry Kane, and Sol says that he would have the Spurs striker in his dream XI, the name Fifa has given to their team of the year yo be named tonight. Asked which three players he would definitely put in this year’s team, the centre-back turned failed Tory candidate for the 2015 London mayoral election is unequivocal. “Ronaldo, Messi and Kane.” he says. “Harry’s done enough to get in there. He’s up on their level.”
Preamble
So here it is. The one we’ve all been waiting for. The annual tussle between Ronaldo and Messi for the right to call themselves the greatest footballer on the planet, or as Fifa would have us call tonight’s winner; The Best. Neymar, of course, is here in London to trail in glumly in third, no doubt adding to his funk after he was sent off against Marseille last night for having the temerity to stand up to incessant kicking.
In the buildup to this event the controversy has centred on the women’s player of the year award. The fun started when Fifa overlooked Australia’s Sam Kerr for their three woman shortlist despite her incredible exploits on the pitch, and instead plumped for a teenage Venezuelan student who had never even represented her country at senior international level. More about that later.
Among the other awards which will be handed out tonight are best coach, best goalkeeper, best goal, the world’s best X1 and the best fans, with the green and white side of Glasgow awaiting that announcement with baited breath.
The London Palladium is bathed in the usual Fifa glitz and schmaltz. The first award will be handed out at 7.40pm BST, but the egos have been arriving for hours. The red carpet is green, in honour of the beautiful game, and already some have been turning the air blue. Here’s what Megan Rapinoe has had to say:
The USA international Megan Rapinoe has attacked Fifa after it named a teenage student on its three-person shortlist for the female player of the year award.
Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos has not represented her country at senior international level, and plays most of her football for Florida State University. She is on Fifa’s shortlist alongside World Cup winner Carli Lloyd and Holland forward Lieke Martens.
“The award just doesn’t hold a lot of weight when you’ve got someone on the list I’ve never heard of,” said Rapinoe, who has won an Olympic gold and World Cup with the US. She added: “It signals to us and it signals to the rest of the world that Fifa doesn’t really care.”
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