Feliz Martes! The FIFA Ballon d'Or preliminary list of 23 men has been finalised and although the final 3 names will be announced on December 5th, you have an entire month to gloss over this. There haven't been many surprises and we've highlighted whom we think will probably and predictably make the cut based on the votes and if it doesn't work out, they can still make this into a Ballon d'Or reality TV show!

It's the results of the Ballon D'or tonight with Barcelona trio Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta battling it out for the most prestigious individual footballing prize. Fact time then...

Michael Owen was the last British footballer to win the Ballen D'or (European footballer of the year.

Messi won the Ballon d'Or last night he was named the best player in the world in 2010. Not Xavi. Not Iniesta. Not Sneijder. And not a single (Fantasy) Premier League player in sight. La Liga's dominance continues on ... Continue reading →

So it seems that it doesn't really matter if Arsene Wenger ups the wages of Samir Nasri as that is not the reason he has so far rejected Arsenal's offer of a new contract. Wenger said when he asked about the contract talks that the diffrence was purely "financial", but according to Nasri today, there [.

FELIZ MARTES! The shortlist for the Women's FIFA Ballon d'Or has been announced and surprise, surprise, three of the names drawn are from the US national team. The winners, Japan, also have two possible winners in the list, as do France. Abby Wambach (seen above with a fan), Hope Solo and Aya Miyama are a few of the key names but all these talented futbolitas are all winners in their own right.

There's a lot of things about USA Women's National Team striker Abby Wambach especially here- that screams "Ellen DeGeneres!" From their wackiness to similar hairstyles, Abby can easily pass off as Ellen's footballing twin. Yesterday, Abby spoke up about the Women's World Cup final to Japan en route to this awesome photo shoot she did in Hollywood, admitting the US Women's team has come a long way from that loss.

Nearly two years ago, the Daily Mail's Matt Lawton published a piece under what should surely be considered one of the most dunderheaded headlines in recent football journalism: "The best players of the world (and Xavi): Ronaldo crowned king of football." In the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo's ascension as the world player of the year in 2009, Lawton took the time to cheekily ridicule Xavi Hernández, a player whose patience, measure, and impeccable sense of the tempo in attack and defense has helped to make Barcelona the best club side in Europe (arguably) and Spain the best national side in the world (most certainly).

In a week that has seen the Christian festival of Epiphany come and pass, the world was reminded of the day that three very wise men from the East came and paid homage to an even more special baby boy.

Theology aside, the similarities bestowing the football world to this most sacred of Christian holidays can be drawn.

Wir sind schon im Jahr 2011 und da wird es Zeit, dass man die besten Spieler und Spielerinnen des abgelaufenen Jahres 2010 kürt. Dafür hat man heute am 10. Januar 2011 auf einer große Gala in Zürich etliche Preise vergeben, allen voran den Ballon D'Or für den besten Spieler des Jahres und den Preis für [.

Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi captured the inaugural Fifa Ballon d'Or award. This is the first time this award has been presented as the Ballon d'Or (former European Footballer of the Year award) and the FIFA World Player of the Year award have been merged.

Messi beat out fellow Barcelona teammates Xavi and Andres Iniesta both of whom had strong years for club and country.

Choosing the winner of the 2011 Ballon D'Or seemed like a tough decision to make. Three Barcelona geniuses, all with a chance to be crowned as the best player of the world. Iniesta and Xavi had just triumphed in the World Cup with Spain, but Messi was part of an amazing season for Barcelona, scoring 43 goals in 57 matches.

Choosing the winner of the 2011 Ballon D'Or seemed like a tough decision to make. Three Barcelona geniuses, all with a chance to be crowned as the best player of the world. Iniesta and Xavi had just triumphed in the World Cup with Spain, but Messi was part of an amazing season for Barcelona, scoring 43 goals in 57 matches.

So the Lamborghini Murcielago, represented by Lionel Messi, takes top trumps. The Barcelona superstar and current FIFA World Player of the Year has capped off another annual by retaining his Ballon d'Or crown.

Messi fended off the challenge of fellow Barca compatriots Xavi Hernandez, and Andres Iniesta to become one of the rare few to have won the prize twice in succession.

Former Virginia Tech assistant Matt Gwilliam has been named the new head coach for Temple's women's soccer program. Good luck, sir!

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Union have signed Bimbo Bakeries as a shirt sponsor. The deal is worth $12 million over 4 years, and also makes Bimbo a league sponsor, which opens up other advertising opportunities for the company, including stadium ads.

The dummy aerial move may be one of football's best, if often unscripted.

• The Prem's big money men. (The Best Eleven)
• Ronaldinho's missed destiny, among other things. (A Football Report)
• Ballon d'Or voting offers up interesting look. (Dirty Tackle)
• Prepping for a derby.

This should have been posted last Friday but got lost in the shuffle. What do you think is going on in Greasano's head as he looks to his left and sees six little cules pose for the Ballon d'Or dream team of 2010? On the last La Liga Weekly podcast, A New Year And Copa del Rey Beginning there was some discussion on David Villa not being part of the Barca wolf pack as he was officially.