FIFA Ballon d'Or winner 2010 - Lionel Messi

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Messi: It was a wonderful surprise

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.

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Messi, Marta, Mourinho and Neid crowned as the best of 2010

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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India win despite van Wyk fifty

India 168 (Rohit 53, Raina 43) beat South Africa 147 for 9 (van Wyk 67) by 21 runs

Morne Van Wyk defined irony on a lovely Durban night at the marvellous Moses Mabhida Stadium. On the day where he went unpicked by the IPL franchises, van Wyk hit a cultured 39-ball 67 to threaten to overhaul India's strong 168, but he fell in the 11th over to trigger a collapse and India closed in quickly. South Africa had deployed three spinners on a slow, low surface, but Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina propelled India to a match-winning total.

Van Wyk had the crowd in screaming in delight with his strokeplay: He looted 25 runs from six deliveries, spread over two overs, from Munaf Patel: There was a stunning pick-up shot over midwicket boundary, a pulled six and a cut boundary but the best shot was a scorching square drive to a ball that landed just short of the blockhole. And when he crashed R Ashwin for a four and a slog-swept six in the final over of the Powerplay, South Africa had reached 59 for 2.

It took an unlikely run out to switch the momentum India's way. Aashish Nehra relayed a throw from the deep to Suresh Raina, who fired a direct hit from midwicket to catch AB de Villiers short of his crease in the 10th over. JP Duminy fell in the next over, trapped by Yuvraj Singh, and things got worse for the hosts in 11th over, when van Wyk flicked Praveen Kumar straight to Nehra at deep square-leg. It was the beginning of the end, as no one barring Johan Botha, to an extent, could adapt to the slow track.

The football stadium hosted its first cricket international and Makhaya Ntini's last. It wasn't quite a perfect night for Ntini, but he had his moments to savour: He caught Rohit at the long-on boundary and faced the penultimate delivery of the game before he was cheered off by the Indians.

The slow pitch and the design of the stadium, with its short square-boundaries, dictated the style of play. The new ball and seamers leaked runs, the spinners pegged back the run-rate, and the batsmen heaved square to collect boundaries. India raced to 57 in six Powerplay overs, another 57 came in the next eight overs, bowled by the spinners, for the loss of three wickets before Suresh Raina pushed India ahead.

The openers, M Vijay and Virat Kohli, set the ball rolling with a few trademark hits: M Vijay unfurled a flamboyant lofted hit to long-on off Ntini and Kohli put his signature swat-flicks to great use, but it was Rohit who gave a solid foundation to the innings. He started with an edgy drive through the slips but almost immediately played a stylish pick-up shot for a six over midwicket off Ntini. He was dropped by de Villiers, the keeper, after being beaten in flight by Botha, and celebrated that reprieve by looting 16 runs in the 12th over, also bowled by Botha. He heaved a couple of boundaries to midwicket and hit a scorching inside-out cover drive. Rohit provided the crowd a moment to celebrate when he holed out to long-on, where Ntini caught the ball just inside the boundary to trigger huge cheers.

India slipped from 109 for 3 to 136 for 5 after Yuvraj Singh was run out and Yusuf Pathan edged an intended big hit on to his stumps but Raina ensured India reached a competitive score. He kept going for his slog-sweeps and swung Ntini and Rusty Theron for sixes and though the run-rate dipped a notch in the end overs, 168 was always going to be a strong total on this surface.

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Pakistan seal win on dramatic day

Pakistan 367 (Shafiq 83, Misbah 62, Arnel 4-95) and 21 for 0 beat New Zealand 275 (Southee 56, McCullum 56, Ahmed 4-63) and 110 (McCullum 35, Rehman 3-24, Gul 3-28) by 10 wickets

What Pakistan inflicted on New Zealand on a dramatic third day in Hamilton was nothing short of an embarassment. On a still-placid track, the hosts were victims of some incisive Pakistan bowling but let themselves down through some equally inept batting, transforming a Test that had been closely-fought on the first two days into a hopelessly one-sided contest in just one session.

Pakistan's build-up to this Test had been hijacked by the spot-fixing hearings in Doha but they managed to infuse plenty of significance to a Test that otherwise appeared as a sideshow. Missing several of their first-choice players, for reasons ranging from allegations of corruption to indiscipline and fitness, Pakistan were propelled to victory on the back of strong performances from their inexperienced players under a fresh captain. Misbah-ul-Haq's team had held South Africa to two draws in the UAE, but this win, for all the distractions off the field and though against a less prominent opposition, would go miles in restoring some pride after a turbulent few months.

For New Zealand, who had challenged India in their Test series there, it marked another low, and a dispiriting start - discounting the Twenty20 series prior to this - to John Wright's tenure as coach.

Pakistan's lower order, including its bowlers, had played a crucial role in stretching the first-innings lead to 92 after the loss of two early wickets in the day. And the confidence with which they went about extending their team's advantage with the bat, showed in the way they attacked on the field in the session after tea.

While New Zealand dropped catches, Pakistan hardly gave anything away. While New Zealand's seamers often overpitched to the tailenders, the Pakistan bowlers backed their superior pace by varying their lengths. And while Daniel Vettori was negotiated safely, his left-arm spinning counterpart Abdur Rehman never seemed far from taking a wicket.

Rehman was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers in the first innings, strangling New Zealand's run-flow with a spate of maidens in the session after lunch on the first day. It was no surprise then that Misbah turned to him as early as the ninth over in New Zealand's second attempt.

Rehman doesn't rely too much on spin but plenty on alterations in place and length. He should have had Brendon McCullum out lbw almost immediately with a quick straighter one, but just an over later he fooled Tim McIntosh, who stepped out to a flighted delivery that was held back, played inside the line and was stumped. The psychological edge he had gained over Martin Guptill in the first innings, tying him down with five straight maidens, reaped rewards in the second, as the batsman top-edged an ill-planned slog-sweep. The icing on the cake was the wicket of Vettori, done in by a bit of turn from the footmarks and trapped plumb.

Rehman had been the beneficiary of three dropped catches during his stand of 72 with Adnan Akmal that took Pakistan in to the lead, but, barring an early lapse from Taufeeq Umar at slip, the visitors were ruthless on the field. Ross Taylor had begun his innings with a couple of confident drives but he was unable to beat a direct-hit from Misbah while attempting a risky single. And when Kane Williamson inside-edged Wahab Riaz onto his pads, the spontaneous appeal for an lbw did not distract Azhar Ali at slip from diving low to claim a catch that was later upheld.

In the interim, Riaz was fortunate to get a caught-behind decision against McCullum - the ball deflected off his thigh - and his extra pace accounted for Jesse Ryder first ball as he failed to bring his bat down in time against an inswinging yorker. Umar Gul wrapped up the innings, when he had debutant Reece Young caught at deep square leg off a short delivery, and then bounced Chris Martin not long after he had completed 100 runs in Test cricket. From 60 for 2, New Zealand collapsed to 110 all out, including losing four wickets for one run and the humiliation was only 19 runs away.

New Zealand had tried hard to even things out on the third morning, but as has been the trend throughout this Test, Pakistan pulled them back to surge ahead. Williamson and Southee's resistance in the first innings ended quickly on the second day, Misbah and Shafiq led the team's recovery after they had been reduced to 107 for 4, and Adnan's counterattack today compensated for the early departure of the overnight duo.

When the seamers strayed on the pads, Adnan flicked them elegantly to the fine-leg boundary; he cut powerfully when they dropped short and drove when they pitched up. His boundary-filled 66-ball stay not only gave Pakistan the lead but eased the burden off those who followed, and their carefree batting yielded more runs. His approach rubbed off on Rehman, who broke a 30-ball runless drought with two sixes off Vettori, while Gul and Tanvir Ahmed did their bit down the order, including smacking Brent Arnel for 15 in an over. The last four wickets added 111, and by the time Martin claimed Ahmed as his 500th first-class victim, the foundation for victory had been firmly laid.

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