Soccer

Bayern receive six Fifa Player of the Year nominations

Lionel Messi still favourite to claim fifth successive Ballon D’Or

Barcelona’s Neymar and Lionel Messi are both on the shortlist.
Barcelona’s Neymar and Lionel Messi are both on the shortlist.
Tue Oct 29 2013 - 12:14

Six players from Bayern Munich’s treble-winning team were included among the 23 nominees for the World Player of the Year award announced by Fifa this morning.

Jose Mourinho was included on the shortlist for Coach of the Year despite failing to win any major trophies with Real Madrid last season, a performance the Portuguese himself described as "disastrous".

The only British player to make the list was Wales international Gareth Bale.

African Nations Cup winning coach Stephen Keshi of Nigeria was overlooked and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure was the only African to make either list.

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German internationals Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller and Philipp Lahm, Frenchman Franck Ribery and Dutchman Arjen Robben were the Bayern players on the list.

Joining the Bayern contingent were the usual favourites such as Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bayern's former coach Jupp Heynckes, since replaced by Pep Guardiola, was on the coaches list after leading his side to a Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble.

The omission of Bayern's Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic was a surprise as many critics felt he had made the difference between last season and 2011/12, where Bayern were runners-up in all three competitions.

Brazil's Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose side hosted and won the Confederations Cup in June, was the only South American to make the coaching shortlist.

Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Thiago Silva were the South American nominees for the Player of the Year award, along with Messi. All six are based in Europe.

Although several of the nominated coaches failed to win a major trophy last season, Mourinho’s nomination was the biggest surprise as his side’s results fell far short of Real Madrid’s expectations.

They finished 15 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, lost to neighbours Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey final and were outclassed by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals.

Atletico's Argentine coach Diego Simeone was overlooked.

The final decisions will be made by the captains and coaches of the national teams and international media representatives selected by France Football magazine. The ceremony takes place in Zurich on January 13th.

Players' shortlist: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Philipp Lahm (Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Mesut Ozil (Bayern Munich), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Thiago Silva (PSG), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Robin Van Persie (Manchester United), Xavi (Barcelona).

Coaches shortlist: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Rafael Benitez (Napoli), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Vicente Del Bosque (Spain) Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil) Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)