Today, the FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke and adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer officially announced the 10 nominees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ adidas Golden Ball award at a press conference and photo call at adidas PR Headquarters, Jo’bulani Central in Johannesburg. The adidas Golden Ball is the official FIFA trophy for the “Best Player of the Tournament”. The ten nominated players were selected by the Technical Study Group of FIFA who include football experts such as Kalusha Bwalya, Christian Karembeu, Jomo Sono and Gérard Houllier.
Nominees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ adidas Golden Ball trophy are:
Diego Forlan (URU, 10), Asamoah Gyan (GHA, 3), Andres Iniesta (ESP, 6) , Lionel Messi (ARG, 10), Mesut Özil (GER, 8), Arjen Robben (NED, 11), Bastian Scheweinsteiger (GER, 7), Wesley Sneijder (NED, 10), David Villa (ESP, 7), XAVI (ESP, 8).
FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke comments “The 2010 FIFA World Cup has seen some great team efforts and some fantastic individual performances with stars emerging to show their unique brilliance and flair on the world’s greatest sports stage and providing entertainment to millions of football fans around the world. These 10 players truly deserve recognition for their performances by being nominated for the adidas Golden Ball award.”
adidas Group CEO, Herbert Hainer added: “The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ has been a great success for adidas - both in terms of performance of our teams and players on the field of play and in terms of sales. adidas players David Villa, Xavi, Diego Forlan and Bastian Schweinsteiger really left their mark on this World Cup and I am happy to see them among the 10 nominees for the adidas Golden Ball Trophy. Our football business is growing worldwide. We are now expecting record sales of at least 1.5 billion Euro in the football category, thus extending our leading position in the world's biggest sport."
Accredited media representatives will vote to determine the winners of the adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze ball awards. The winners will be announced after the final on 11th July.
Meanwhile, FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) announced today the shortlist for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award consisting of the three best young players in this year’s FIFA World Cup™. The award continues the tradition of officially recognising the positive impact made by young footballers and is open to all participating players under 21 years old on 11 July 2010. The final winner will be selected by the FIFA TSG and announced on FIFA.com after the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ final. The winner will receive the coveted Hyundai Best Young Player Award trophy and a new Hyundai Tucson ix 35.
The emergence of young footballing talent on the world stage is one of the joys of any FIFA World Cup? and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is no exception. These burgeoning young stars may have been relatively unknown before the opening ceremony in Johannesburg, but there is little doubt that the three nominated for the prestigious Hyundai Best Young Player Award shortlist can become household names for many years to come.
All three of the young players shortlisted today have demonstrated exceptional skills during the tournament as well as youthful and refreshing playing styles combined with tactical maturity. Furthermore, their creativity has served as an inspiration to all and earned fan recognition for their performances.
The Hyundai Best Young Player Award is one of the official FIFA awards and is selected by the Technical Study Group, a FIFA-appointed group of top football coaches and analysts, whose director Jean-Paul Brigger is a former Swiss international, Swiss domestic league champion with FC Sion and the country’s Player of the Year in 1992. He is also a five-time winner of the Swiss Cup and was named Swiss coach of the year in 1995. Other prominent members of the TSG are Christian Karembeu, Gérard Houllier, Holger Osieck, Kalusha Bwalya and Ephraim Matsilele “Jomo” Sono.
Nominees for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa:
Thomas Müller (GER)
Thomas Müller’s rapid rise through the senior football ranks has been nothing short of remarkable. A fringe player with his club, Bayern Munich, just two seasons ago, and with a first international cap coming only in March of this year (presciently, a friendly against Argentina), the 20-year-old striker has captured the imagination of fans everywhere with his pulsating approach play and vital goals (4) and assists (3).
Giovani Dos Santos (MEX)
Still only 21, Giovani Dos Santos is one of the most famous faces in the Mexico squad. “Gio”, who played much of the most recent club season on loan to Turkish side Galatasaray, burst on to the scene aged 16 when he showed prodigious technique and vision in helping Mexico to victory in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru in 2005. The super-nimble young forward has become a key cog in the attractive Tricolor team and looks sure to be around for years to come.
Andre Ayew (GHA)
The son of Black Stars legend Abedi Pele, ”Dede” Ayew is used to living his young life in the footballing spotlight and he has handled the attention with great poise. He already became a world champion with the U-20s in Ghana last year. As an attacking midfielder, Ayew has become an important part of Ghana’s playing system with a successful pass rate of 85%.
