Vuvuzela South Africa

Brazilian, Marta and Argentinian, Lionel Messi - World Player of the Year - Female and Male

Lionel Messi became the first Argentine to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award on Monday. He was presented with the trophy at a glittering awards gala in Zurich.

European Footballer of the Year

The 22-year-old forward, who also landed the European Footballer of the Year prize earlier this month, picked up the accolade after collecting four major titles with Barcelona – the Champions League, the Club World Cup, La Liga and the King’s Cup

Champions League Final

Lionel Messi, who headed the clinching goal against Manchester United in the Champions League final, also scored on Saturday to secure the FIFA Club World Cup for Barcelona against Estudiantes.

The Argentine, who joined Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000, claimed 1,073 points in a poll of 147 national team coaches and captains.

Messi beat last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo, his two Barcelona clubmates Andres Iniesta and Xavi and Brazil midfielder Kaka.

FIFA/FIFPro World XI

Meanwhile, Messi’s team-mates Daniel Alves, Xavi and Iniesta were among those named in the FIFA/FIFPro World XI.
The XI, voted for by members of the international professional footballers’ union – FIFPro chosen by over 50,000 professional football players from all over the world, voting for the best player in each position, were: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Patrice Evra (Man Utd), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Fernando Torres (Liverpool).

Ronaldo – Best Goal for 2008/2009 Season

Ronaldo won the FIFA Puskas award for the best goal of the 2008/09 season – Real Madrid’s Portuguese idol. Cristiano’s award-winning strike, which came when he was on duty for Manchester United in last season’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie against Porto, came out on top in a poll attracting the votes of over 100,000 FIFA.com users.

Fair Play Award – Sir Bobby

The FIFA Fair Play Award was given posthumously to Sir Bobby Robson for his “outstanding commitment to the values of fair play throughout his career.’’ The award was collected by his widow Elsie.

Marta – FIFA Women’s World Player 2009

Brazil’s Marta, who scooped up the awards for the best female player of the year for the fourth year running.

Source: fifa.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

The day we have all been waiting for has arrived. The Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will take place this evening at 7pm (local time) at the International Convention Center in Cape Town.

Taking place on a huge wooden stage with a typically African backdrop, the Final Draw will be preceded by a ceremony featuring a series of speeches and a dazzling array of live music and dance performances.

32 Tiny Balls

Once the evening’s colourful entertainment is over, however, the audience’s attention will turn to four glass bowls containing 32 tiny little balls, which will carry the hopes and fears and dreams of millions of fans.

This final draw will be the last major event before the actual 2010 World Cup kicks off in June 2010.

World Cup Host Cities

Tonight we will know who plays whom and where the various teams will play. Coaches and team management will be able to finalise their living arrangements and those that have not done so yet will be able to confirm host cities.

Official World Cup Match Ball

For me, one of the more interesting events this evening will be the announcement of the Official Match Ball. We have been playing with the Adidas Kopanya – the Confederations Cup ball since that event.

Group of Death

Eish! And the legendary Group of Death? As underdogs, South Africans are hoping and praying that our national team, which hasn’t been performing well at all, will not only avoid the group of death, but will get a favourable draw. Maybe our lovely Oscar winner, Charlize Theron, will bring Bafana Bafana luck tonight.

How the Draw Could Play Out

According to Fifa .com Bafana Bafana are one of the seeded teams and will be in good company in Pot 1, where they will be joined by five former winners of the competition with 15 wins between them: Brazil (5), Italy (4), Germany (3), Argentina (2) and England (1). Completing the elite octet are Spain and Netherlands.

France and Uruguay, the two other former champions, will be feeling slightly more nervous about their prospects ahead of the big night. The illustrious duo only scraped their way into the finals at the last minute following close-fought play-off matches and subsequently find themselves in Pot 4 and 3 respectively.

Africa’s Hopes

In addition to the hosts, five other African teams will be hoping to avoid a tough draw to increase their chances of impressing on their home continent. Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria are all back in the finals after absences of varying lengths, while Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are both making immediate returns.

188 Days to go!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Benni McCarthy is Back in the Bafana Bafana Squad

When Carlos Alberto Parreira returned as head coach, the writing was on the wall, Benni Mc Carthy would be asked to come back. The door to the Bafana Bafana team would once again be opened to the man who has scored 31 goals in 76 caps for his country.

Coaching Team in Agreement

According to football 365 Assistant coach Jario Leal says the recalling of McCarthy after nine months of self-imposed sabbatical was done in consultation with returning head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira along with Pitso Mosimane.

“The return of Benni was done after we spoke about it between myself, Pitso [Mosimane] and Parreira,” Leal said at a press conference on Thursday. “He [McCarthy] is the main striker in the country and this is the time to bring Benni back and see how he does in the last two games of the year. He is a good player and we trust Benni is going to help us in the way forward.”

Bafana Bafana Squad – Best Talent Available

Carlos Alberto Parreira has announced his intentions to be a no-nonsense coach by pulling no punches to ensure that the best available talent will from now on be used in the Bafana Bafana squad – and that means selecting people who can score goals.

SAFA has announced a radically new looking 24-man squad to represent Bafana in their upcoming friendly internationals against Japan and Jamaica.

U20 World Cup Amajita stars Kermit Erasmus, Daylon Claason and Darren Keet have been selected in the squad along with Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy and in-form SuperSport United winger Daine Klate.

Match Times

The first match against Japan will take place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 14 November 2009. Kick off is at 15h30.
The second match against Jamaica will be played at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on the Tuesday, 17 November. Kick off is at 20h00.

Bafana Bafana Squad for Japan and Jamaica Friendlies

Goalkeepers:
Rowen Fernandez           Arminia Bielefeld, Germany
Moeneeb Josephs           Orlando Pirates
Darren Keet                        BIDvest Wits

Defenders:
Siboniso Gaxa                Sundowns
Bongani Khumalo         SuperSport
Morgan Gould                 SuperSport
Tsepo Masilela               Maccabi Haifa, Israel
Aaron Mokoena              Portsmouth, England
Anele Ngcongca              KRC Genk, Belgium
Lucas Thwala                     Orlando Pirates
Siyabonga Sangweni       Golden Arrows

Midfielders:
Daine Klate                            SuperSport United
Renilwe Letsholonyane    Kaizer Chiefs
Daylon Claasen                      Ajax Amsterdam, Holland
MacBeth Sibaya                    Rubin Kazan, Russia
Teko Modise                            Orlando Pirates
Elrio Van Heerden                 Blackburn Rovers, England
Siphiwe Tshabalala                Kaizer Chiefs
Kagisho Dikgacoi                   Fulham, England

Strikers:
Benni McCarthy             Blackburn Rovers, England
Katlego Mphela             Sundowns
Kermit Erasmus             Excelsior Rotterdam, Holland
Bernard Parker              FC Twente, Holland
Mabhudi Khenyeza        Sundowns

Photo: Benni Mc Carthy Football 365

Popularity: 10% [?]

jeisz6×9yt

Popularity: 2% [?]

When we think of the upcoming 2010FIFA World Cup South Africa, we are excited because it is the first World Cup on African soil. But we are well aware of the great legacy and long history of giants of the game this this tournament carries along with it. So it was exciting with The Telegraph carried a feature of the Top 50 World Cup Moments.

Top 50 World Cup Moments

We already know that included in those Top 50 World Cup Moments we will hear the names of Maradona, Pele, Bobby Moore, Cruyf, Zidane, Gascoigne, Michael Owen and a whole string of other superstars of the beautiful game and memorable moments caught on video – you can watch all these on YouTube.

Popularity: 3% [?]