FIFA have decided to unify the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player awards into just the Ballon d'Or, a smart decision which will cause less confusion. And now it's just a few hours before the Uruguay - Netherlands World Cup semi-final and the Ballon d'Or nominees have been named. 11 nominees of which 9 are still playing in the World Cup, it seems like the tournament will be decisive in who will win the award as it looks to be a tight race.

Its funny. Four years ago, heading into Germany for the 2006 World Cup, we were convinced Lampard and Gerrard were the two best midfielders in the world (they'd come second and third at the 2005 Ballon d'or). They both misfired at the World Cup, spawning what we now think of historically as the Lampard/Gerrard Problem.

Barcelona did not get the 2 0 victory needed (Inter beat Barca 3 1 on the first leg in Italy) and Inter Milan is facing Bayern Munich in the 2010's Champions League Final, on May 22nd at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. The match finished 1-0 Barca with a beautiful goal from Piqué.

Well deserved.

So it's official: the sport's grandest award and the trinket FIFA hand out in the shadows have now combined to create one Super Award which will be given to the sport's player of the year.

Or here's the alternative director's ending: FIFA convinced the people at France Football to slap their name on the award for street cred in return for the some fancy watches Sepp has sitting in his dungeon lair, along with the boxes upon boxes of short shorts and hot pants female players are still refusing to wear.

Patrick Vieira's comments on Thursday that the Premier League is going backwards wasn't just the withering criticism of a star on the slide.

It seems the legendary Arsenal captain has made good use of his time on the bench in Manchester by wryly observing the state of the competition and the failings of his contemporaries and has come to the conclusion that the league isn't as good as it was in his hey-day.

By Ollie Irish

THE best stuff on Pies over the last week:

Harry Redknapp Tells Sky Sports To ‘F**k Off' After Wheeler Dealer Jibe

Video: Neymar Loses His Shorts In The Tackle

When Will Football Tackle Homophobia?

Top 10 European Away Kits For 2010-11

Umbro Unveil New England Home Kit For Euro 2012 – The Blue Shorts Are Back!

By Chris Wright

After his rash announcement last week that, though still visibly unfit, he should still be commanding a place in the Arsenal starting XI, striker Nicklas Bendtner has found himself linked with many of Europe's elite, with Juventus said to be 'monitoring developments' (reading the papers?

Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva claims that Steven Gerrard is more of a better player if compared to his compatriot Kaka. This must be the biggest joke of the year. No disrespect to any Liverpool fans out there but it will take Gerrard the rest of his career to reach the level Kaka was playing at while in Milan.

Lionel Messi's World Cup ended in tears as Argentina were crushed by Germany in the quarterfinals. However, as the player's select few critics continue to point out his failure to shine at the national stage, his club captain Carles Puyol suggests that that Messi will go on to win all the major individual accolades this season.

Mario Balotelli's agent has confirmed to the media that Premier League giants Manchester United and Manchester City are indeed chasing after his client's signature. Balotelli, who plies his trade at Inter Milan, has just experienced an up and down season; the 19 year old saw his club pick up a trio of honors, but he never really got consistent playing time under the departed Jose Mourinho.

Images: Getty Images Europe, AP Photo via Daylife

Are we over the relative disappointment of Yoann Gourcuff's signing for a Ligue 1 club instead of an EPL one? Not really, but we're mildly comforted by the news that Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has signed the delicious Raul Meireles from Porto for the princely sum of £10.

Some midfielders are born to play the position. Barcelona and Spain's Ballon D'or winner Xavi comes to mind. There's plenty to say about a player like Xavi, who was seemingly handed the keys to the middle of the pitch at birth. But that's not a topic for me to tackle, not today anyway. No, today we're going to look at a player who took a decidedly more circuitous route to the middle of the park.

Its a given isn't it - surely Messi, the bookies favourite, is going to take home the Ballon d'Or for the second year running?

• As this video shows, he scored three hat tricks in a week (10 in total)
• Last season he scored 47 goals in 53 games
• This season he has already scored 27 goals in 23 games (17 in 14 just in the League)
• He has scored 55 goals in the 2010 alone
• He broke his own record this season by scoring in 10 consecutive games
• The record ended when Barca bear Real Madrid 5-0.

Mario Balotelli has not made a lot of friends since leaving Inter Milan for Manchester City this summer. His comments after being named the best young player in Europe will do nothing to add to his reputation as the most egotistical player in football.

Balotelli was named the Golden Boy winner, which is organised by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and voted for by journalists across Europe to recognise the most talented player Under 21.

Although Lionel Messi is most likely the front-runner for the Ballon d'Or in the eyes of many fans, the Argentinian believes that it is Xavi or Iniesta that deserve the prestigious award. The fact that Xavi and Iniesta not only performed in Club level but also for the Spain National, in which they took home the World Cup, Messi feels that these two are more deserving than him for the Ballon d'Or award.

This past week, Cristiano Ronaldo made a pretty bold statement: ""I have an ambition to become the best player in history." Big words. Especially when Argentine mega mite Lionel Messi just took home the Ballon D'Or as the best player of 2009. Inevitably, these two mega talents have not only defined today's game [.

photo credit: Paolo Camera

The Pick: Fitting that the picture above shows Ronaldo running away while wearing a Man U jersey. After all, that is the last view Man U fans had of Ronaldo after he ran to Real Madrid for a bigger check. But, I am not so sure La Liga poses Ronnie a bigger challenge than the EPL did (and would have kept doing).

photo credit: fortes

The Pick: I love Kaka. I know he will be way higher on this list by the time his career is over, and I only put him down this low because my formula probably puts too much emphasis on one's career stats, and Kaka's career is far from over.

photo credit: Shht!

The Pick: I know what you are thinking: "is that really a picture of a bib with Messi's face on it?" Well sports fans, I am not an expert on the subject, but yes that is exactly what it appears to be. It is fitting too because Messi more than any other player of his generation so far (and that it includes Ronaldo and Kaka) makes opposing teams cry like babies.

Kaka and AC Milan rampaged through Manchester United en route to the 2007 Champions League trophy. Kaka was literally in the form of his life.
Literally because he hasn't played nearly as good since.
After winning World Player of the Year honors and the Ballon d'Or that year, Kaka became the odd-man out at Milan.

image credits: globo.com

Today Messi, once again, showed the world there is not footballer like him. The Argentinian (well look at that, I am praising an Argentinian footballer!) forward gave Barcelona a spot in the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-1 victory over Arsenal at Camp Nou. Yes, he scored all 4 goals.

Thought your chocolate Easter bunny was cool? Check out this chocolate sculpture of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi complete with Ballon d'Or award! This massive hunk of chocolate weighs in at 115 kilograms!!!!

It would seem that our top target this summer is Edin Dzeko and it's easy to see why. Aged 24, the Wolfsburg striker was the top scorer in the Budesliga last season, was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in 2009 and was second top scorer to Wayne Rooney in the UEFA qualifying section of the World Cup, despite playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Robben On Scintillating Form For Bayern Munich This Season

Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben has undoubtedly had a fantastic season with the Champions League runners-up. Robben's ability to run at defenders and create just as much as he scores, as well as his sympatico relationship with Munich team-mate Franck Ribery, has made Bayern Munich one of the most exciting sides to watch in all of Europe, nevermind just Germany.

Nemanja Vidic's agent implied that the defender may be open to a move away from Manchester United after the World Cup finishes.Vidic has spent all season claiming that he is happy at the club and wants to stay here for the next two seasons at least, even having the nerve to get frustrated with speculation that he is seeking a transfer, so it seems fairly puzzling that the agent is now waiting on Vidic's decision on his future.

Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d'Or after the 2006 World Cup, largely, if not totally, on the back of Italy's success. It was a rare feat for a defender but served only to prove that it was possible. The winner of the Ballon d'Or is usually chosen, in recent years, from one of the better teams in the European Champions League, regarded as the epitome of top level football comeptition.

Im Jahr 2006 war die Welt für die UEFA, europäischen Fussballverband, noch in Ordnung. Gleich sechs Teams aus Europa standen bei der WM2006 im Viertelfinale und zeigten die Dominanz des europäischen Fussballs gegenüber der restlichen Fussballwelt. Komplettiert wurde das Viertelfinale durch die zwei üblichen Verdächtigen aus Südamerika, Brasilien und Argentinien.

FIFA announced today that the two most prestigious awards in men's world soccer, the FIFA World Player of the Year award (awarded by FIFA since 1991) and the Ballon d'Or (run since 1956 by France Football magazine), would merge together: FIFA's paws once more taking hold of a previously independent and prestigious aspect of the global game.

By Chris Wright

Just a quickie to keep y'all abreast of the latest goings-on in football land.

FIFA have announced this morning that, as of next year, they will be merging their Ballon d'Or award (i.e. the European Footballer of the Year award) with their World Player of the Year award to form a new, combined mega-award named.

As of next year, the two most prestigious individual accolades in world football will cease to exist as seperate entities, and merge to create a single globe-spanning award.

France Football's Ballon d'Or (i.e. the European Footballer of the Year award) will now be combined with FIFA's World Player of the Year award to form a single title, to be named the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award.

Blatter has achieved what top physicists having been trying to do for decades - fusion at room temperature.
Sepp Blatter revealed in a press conference in Johannesburg that the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or will cease to exist as two separate entities and will merge into one individual trophy.

Inter Milan bad boy Mario Balotelli is happy to be rumoured with a move to Manchester, after interest from both Man United and Man City. The 19 year old is one of Italy's hottest prospects, but after disciplinary troubles at the Serie A champions, Balotelli is being shown the exit door.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has been very outspoken about his admiration for Real Madrid playmaker Kaka. Under the tutelage of Ancelotti, the Brazilian went from a developing youngster to a global superstar at AC Milan. Now, with the Blues set to pull out of an expensive deal for Liverpool's injured forward Fernando Torres, Kaka's chances of securing a move to the Premier League have increased significantly.

The Divino Codina: Now and Zen

If you are per chance wondering what the Divine Ponytail is upto nowadays - he is studying to be a coach in Florence. Right now he is undergoing basic training which will finish August 6th under a course organized by AICA, the players union.

As with Baggio, his demeanour and humility had everyone talking and taking autographs of the legend.

I'm not a huge fan of UEFA's awards system, one which sometimes coincides with the Ballon d'Or, if not recently. It typically rewards players for being good on good teams, rather than simply good. As much where you play as how you play.

Nothing seems to have changed this year.
The method:

The nominations are decided by the coaches of the 16 teams that reached the knockout stage of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League.

By Ollie Irish

If Uncle Sepp asked us to pick a six-man shortlist for this year's FIFA Ballon d'Or, here are the players who would make the Pies cut:

◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 6 ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 6

WES SNEIJDER (Inter & Netherlands) - Imperious for Inter all season, carried that form into the World Cup, where he was one of the few big names to live up to his star billing

Photos: PA

From that shortlist, I would give it to Xavi, who had such a brilliant season for club and country, and rarely put a foot wrong.

This year's Ballon d'Or would be one of the most contestly fought contest in recent years. The front runners of this years award are Andres Iniesta, Xavi hernandez, Lionel Messi, Diego Forlan and Wesley Sneijder. The Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award has been merged from this year and has been Christened as FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Diego Forlan may be 31-years old but he looked far from it at the World Cup in South Africa where he saw himself be awarded with the Golden Ball award. Although he wasn't able to be contacted by any of the major club's that was expected, Forlan still showed that at 31-years of age, he may still have a lot left in him.

Spanish star Xavi went on to call Pep Guardiola the best coach in the world as the Ballon d'Or candidate believes that if there was such a award for managers, Pep Guardiola would be the front-runner. Having led Barcelona to multiple silverware, Pep Guardiola is definitely considered one of the best coaches but to Xavi, he considers him the best.

Lucio, who has won the World Cup, the European Cup, as well as the league title in Italy and Germany, has today tipped Dimitar Berbatov to win the Ballon d'Or.

"With the natural ability that guy has with a football we could be talking about him being the world player of the year this season," said Lucio.