12 things we learned at the FIFA Football Awards
The annual FIFA Awards are a hotbed of friendship, jealousy, intrigue, parochialism and outright snubs as 459 international captains, coaches and journalists name their top three players and managers of the year. Marvellously, FIFA publish each voter’s choices, so we can pore over their very public decisions. Read on to find out who plays it politically – and who doesn’t really care what people think...
Ronaldo and Messi: mutually assured obstruction
Lionel Messi didn’t pick Cristiano Ronaldo in his top three players. Ronaldo didn’t pick Messi. CR7 chose Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo; Messi chose Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta and turncoat Neymar. Doesn’t matter, though: CR7 romped to the award, leaving Messi and Neymar far behind in second and third.
Neuer prefers neither
Of the 459 voters, 433 chose either Ronaldo, Messi or both in their top top threes. Among the 26 not to name either were: Ronaldo and Messi, because they can’t vote for themselves and won’t vote for each other; Germany skipper Manuel Neuer and coach Jogi Low; and Wales boss Chris Coleman. Former centre-back Coleman chose Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos as the world’s best player.
Kane gang
Although he got the lowest points percentage of any of the 24 nominated players, Harry Kane did get one top-placed vote, from Vanuatu journalist Raymond Nase. (Nase had Cristiano Ronaldo second and Neymar third.) Kane got third-placed props from Hugo Lloris, plus the British Virgin Islands captain, the Bahamas coach and Chris Coleman; the Montserrat captain and Cambodian journalist voted him second.
ZZ top, but not with everyone
Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane walked the manager poll with 46.22%, well clear of Chelsea’s Antonio Conte (11.62%) and Juventus gaffer Massimiliano Allegri (8.78%). Among the players not to vote for Zidane anywhere in their top three: the captains of Andorra, Aruba, Barbados, the Cook Islands, Guinea-Bissau, Nepal, St Lucia and Tanzania – plus Diego Godin, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer.
