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Barcelona's best for Ballon d'Or

Last Updated 06 December 2010, 16:29 IST
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Iniesta scored the winning goal in Spain's World Cup final victory over the Netherlands in Johannesburg in July and, along with his midfield partner Xavi and Argentina forward Messi, helped Barcelona to win the Spanish league title.

Messi had a disappointing World Cup by his own high standards, failing to score in the tournament as Argentina, coached by Diego Maradona, suffered a 4-0 defeat by Germany in the quarterfinals.

Vicente del Bosque of Spain, the man who masterminded Spain's first World Cup success, made the shortlist for the Coach of the Year award along with Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan.

“Since 2008, Spanish football is really ahead of the rest. They are also dominating so much at club level,” FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke told a media conference.

“They are playing so well in their club. They are crushing world football at the moment. Barcelona's match against Madrid last week was a brilliant display of football.”

This year's winners will be announced on January 10 in Zurich. The honour was formerly organised solely by France Football magazine but has now merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year.

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(Published 06 December 2010, 16:29 IST)

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