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Search results for label/World Cup
>Adidas JABULANI – Creating the Perfect Flight
Dec 8th
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Creating the perfect flight for the adidas JABULANI, the Official Match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
Learn how the GripnGroove profile circles round the entire surface of the ball in an optimal aerodynamic way which provides an unmatched flight characteristic. adidas nike puma umbro
>Messi wins Ballon d'Or! Barca magician beats Ronaldo to player of the year gong
Dec 1st
>Lionel Messi wins Ballon d’Or – Barca magician beats Drogba, Gerrard, Rooney and Ronaldo to player of the year honour
Lionel Messi has been awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or after being recognised by journalists across the world as the best player of 2009.
The Barcelona and Argentina star succeeds Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the trophy last year after helping Manchester United to glory in the 2008 Champions League.
Messi has been enjoying a fine year, particularly in the second half of last season, when he won the Spanish League, Cup and European Cup.
Absolutely flying: Barcelona star Lionel Messi (left)
The achievement was not lost on the Ballon d’Or jury, who selected Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o from the same Barca team among the 10-man short list.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has since swapped places with Eto’o by leaving Inter Milan for Catalonia, had also been in the running, alongside Ronaldo, who moved from United to Real Madrid for a world record £80million fee in the summer.
Fellow Madrid star Kaka and Barclays Premier League trio Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) and Didier Drogba (Chelsea) made up the short list.
Hall of fame: (Top row from left) Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Steven Gerrard; (middle row from left) Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta, Kaka; (bottom row from left) Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Xavi
Messi, 22, had looked a runaway favourite for the award when in imperious form for Barca, though his recent underachievement in his country’s World Cup qualifying campaign had raised some doubts.
Nonetheless, he has been awarded a title once known as the European Footballer of the Year, becoming the first Argentine to take the trophy home.
VIDEO: Highlights from Messi’s magical year…
