Oct. 28--Juergen Klinsmann, who led the U.S. national team to the Round of 16 in last summer's World Cup, is one of 10 finalists for FIFA's World Coach of the Year award.
Other candidates for the honor include Klinsmann protege Joachim Loew, who led Germany to the World Cup title last summer; top club coaches Pep Guardiola of Bayern Munich and Jose Mourinho of Chelsea; and Louis van Gaal, who took the Netherlands to a third-place finish in Brazil before taking over English club Manchester United.
The list of 23 candidates for men's Player of the Year is led by multi-time winners Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina, but it also includes six members of Loew's World Cup team as well as Brazil's Neymar and Colombia's James Rodriguez.
Surprisingly absent was Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, who led the English Premier League in scoring last season but was suspended from international play after biting an opponent in a World Cup game.
Both lists will be cut to three candidates each on Dec. 1; winners are to be announced at a Jan. 12 gala in Zurich.
Men's World Player of the Year finalists:
Gareth Bale (Wales); Karim Benzema (France); Diego Costa (Spain); Thibaut Courtois (Belgium); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal); Angel Di Maria (Argentina); Mario Goetze (Germany); Eden Hazard (Belgium); Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden); Andres Iniesta (Spain); Toni Kroos (Germany); Philipp Lahm (Germany); Javier Mascherano (Argentina); Lionel Messi (Argentina); Thomas Mueller (Germany); Manuel Neuer (Germany); Neymar (Brazil); Paul Pogba (France); Sergio Ramos (Spain); Arjen Robben (Netherlands); James Rodriguez (Colombia); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany); Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast).
Men's World Coach of the Year finalists:
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid); Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus/Italy national team); Pep Guardiola (Spain/Bayern Munich); Juergen Klinsmann (Germany/U.S. national team); Joachim Loew (Germany/Germany national team); Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea); Manuel Pellegrini (Chile/Manchester City); Alejandro Sabella (Argentina/Argentina national team); Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid); Louis van Gaal (Netherlands/Netherlands national team/Manchester United).
