Sri Lanka take series with 26-run win
Sri Lanka displayed their bowling strength ahead of the 2011 World Cup when they rested three key bowlers and yet ended up beating West Indies by 26 runs.
Japan crowned Kings of Asia
Substitute Tadanari Lee was the hero as his goal led Japan to a 1-0 win over Australia at the Asian Cup Final.Lee volleyed home Yuto Nagatomo's left-wing cross after 108 minutes at Khalifa Stadium to clinch the title and deny Australia a maiden triumph.
Hafeez, Afridi star in series-levelling win
A solid maiden ODI century from Mohammad Hafeez, a monstrous assault in the death overs led by Shahid Afridi and a spirited performance in the field were features of a roaring comeback by Pakistan in the ODI series, which they leveled 1-1 with a 43-run win at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
Trott heroics keep England alive
Jonathan Trott's calculating century ensured England stayed in the series with a 21-run victory that upset Australia's national holiday in Adelaide. The tourists began the game needing to win and the scenario won't change when they head to Brisbane for Sunday's fifth ODI, but they have been boosted by an end to four consecutive limited-overs losses.
Rain wipes out second one-dayer
Abandoned Queenstown is the place for adrenaline-junkies but there was little excitement on Wednesday as persistent rain allowed only 4.2 overs of play in the second one-dayer between Pakistan and New Zealand.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Messi: It was a wonderful surprise
Posted by Unknown on 10:25 AM
Sporting a disbelieving look but smiling all the same, Lionel Messi joked at how heavy the newly presented FIFA Ballon d’Or felt. After his Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola offered to take it home for him, the Argentinian magician stepped down from the stage and spoke about his triumph to FIFA.com.
FIFA.com: Lionel, how are you feeling?
Lionel Messi: I’m happy, but I didn’t expect it because everyone had been talking so much about Xavi and Andres [Iniesta]. They also deserved it for the wonderful year they had. They won the World Cup, which usually goes a long way to deciding who wins this award, and they both had big parts to play in that. That’s why I thought one of them would be going up to collect the trophy. It was a wonderful surprise.
How do you think they are feeling?
I don’t think they’re sad about it. It was a great thing for the three of us and the club to have got this far. I think we all enjoyed the gala.
You obviously feel they deserved to win it, but what do you think tipped it in your favour?
Well, the people who voted decided to choose me and I’m very grateful for that. This is my second world player of the year award and I feel just as happy as I did the first time, if not more so. We’re going to enjoy it.
It was a great thing for the three of us and the club to have got this far. I think we all enjoyed the gala. Messi on Iniesta and Xavi
Did you feel that your performances at South Africa 2010 might have worked against you?
Yes. We didn’t have a bad World Cup but we didn’t achieve the goal we’d set ourselves, which was to be champions. That was the one big regret I have from last year.
Can you make up for it in this year’s Copa America?
That’s our next goal at international level and it’s in Argentina too. It would be great for the country, the fans and for us too because it will allow us to have a more relaxed build-up to the next World Cup.
It would also be something of a relief for you after all the criticism you’ve attracted with La Albiceleste.
Yes it would. I want to achieve something big with the national side and this would be a great opportunity to do just that.
Who are you going to dedicate the award to?
To all my team-mates for helping me to win it, to my family and to everyone who supports me.
Messi, Marta, Mourinho and Neid crowned as the best of 2010
Posted by Unknown on 10:18 AM
Argentina’s Lionel Messi collected the FIFA Ballon d’Or, his second consecutive title, while Brazil’s Marta continued her winning streak by claiming her fifth FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala held at the Zurich Kongresshaus on Monday evening. Meanwhile, José Mourinho, the Portuguese coach of Real Madrid, and Germany’s women’s national team coach Silvia Neid were the inaugural winners of the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football and FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football awards, respectively.
These awards were decided after a poll in which the captains and head coaches of the men’s (for the two men’s football awards) and women’s (for the two women’s football awards) national teams as well as international media representatives selected by France Football voted for candidates in each of the four categories. The votes from each of the three groups counted for one-third of the final result.
It was a night to remember, with on-stage appearances by former and current football stars, top celebrities and a performance by musician by Jamie Cullum to mark the first-ever awarding of the FIFA Ballon d’Or following an alliance to combine the FIFA World Player of the Year award with the France Football Ballon d’Or agreed by FIFA and the Amaury Group in Johannesburg in July 2010.
Messi had an outstanding 2010, winning the Spanish league with his club Barcelona. Messi obtained 22.65% of the votes, ahead of his club team-mates Andrés Iniesta (17.36%) and Xavi (16.48%).
Marta thrilled fans in the Women’s Professional Soccer League in the USA, where she won the Golden Boot and was elected best player of the season with FC Gold Pride. She collected 38.20% of the votes, ahead of Germany’s Birgit Prinz and Fatmire Bajramaj, who received 15.18% and 9.96%, respectively.
Mourinho, who led Inter Milan to the UEFA Champions League, the Italian Serie A and the Italian cup before moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, won with 35.92% of the votes, ahead of Spanish national coach Vicente del Bosque, who received 33.08%, and Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola (8.45%).
Meanwhile, Silvia Neid, coach of current world champions Germany, led the women’s coach category with 24.06% of the votes, ahead of Germany’s U-20 women’s team coach Maren Meinert (18.26%) and the Swedish coach of the USA women’s national team Pia Sundhage (11.68%).
The FIFA/FIFPro World XI to honour the best eleven players of the year 2010, as chosen by over 50,000 professional players from all over the world, went to a “dream team” consisting of Iker Casillas (Spain) in goal; Maicon (Brazil), Lúcio (Brazil), Gerard Piqué (Spain) and Carles Puyol (Spain) in defence; Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Xavi (Spain) and Andrés Iniesta (Spain) in midfield; and Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and David Villa (Spain) up front.
The FIFA Puskás Award for the “most beautiful goal” of the year as voted for on FIFA.com by over one million fans was also handed out. This prize, created in honour and in memory of Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the Hungarian national team during the 1950s, went to Turkey’s Hamit Altintop for his fantastic goal in the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying match between Kazakhstan and Turkey played in Astana on 3 September 2010.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the FIFA Presidential Award from President Joseph S. Blatter for his outstanding commitment to youth development worldwide and his contribution to the use of football as a catalyst for positive social change, as well as for the support he gave to the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the first one on African soil.
The FIFA Fair Play Award was given to the Haiti U-17 women’s team, who had to endure many hardships following the earthquake which struck their country in January 2010, during which their head coach sadly passed away. The team showed great courage to make it to the final round of the CONCACAF qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2010, where their performance was applauded by the fans despite their eventual elimination. The award was collected by the captain of the team, Hayana Jean-François.
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