The FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke and adidas Group CEO
Herbert Hainer today officially announced the 10 nominees for the
2010 FIFA World Cup™ adidas Golden Ball. The adidas Golden Ball is
the official FIFA trophy for the “Best Player of the Tournament”.
The ten nominated players were selected by the FIFA Technical Study
Group and includes 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, shirt #10), Asamoah Gyan (GHA, 3), Andres
Iniesta (ESP, 6), Lionel Messi (ARG, 10), Mesut Oezil (GER, 8),
Arjen Robben (NED, 11), Bastian Schweinsteiger (GER, 7), Wesley
Sneijder (NED, 10), David Villa (ESP, 7), Xavi (ESP, 8)
Accredited media representatives will vote to determine the winners
of the adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze ball awards
on FIFA.com.
The winners will be announced after the final on 11 July.
adidas Golden Ball past winners:
1982 FIFA World Cup™
Spain: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1986 FIFA World Cup™ Mexico: Diego Maradona (Argentina)
1990 FIFA World Cup™ Italy: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
1994 FIFA World Cup™ USA: Romario (Brazil)
1998 FIFA World Cup™ France: Ronaldo (Brazil
2002 FIFA World Cup™ Korea / Japan: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
2006 FIFA World Cup™ Germany: Zinedine Zidane (France)
FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG)
The FIFA Technical
Study Group is headed up by Jean-Paul Brigger . Further prominent
members of the TSG are Christian Karembeu, Humberto Grondona,
Gérard Houllier, Holger Osieck, Leodegar Tenga, Gabriel Calderon,
Alvin Corneal, Kwok Ka-Ming, Kalusha Bwalya, Ephraim Matsilele
‘Jomo’ Sono and Jim Selby.
The characteristics of the ten best players for the adidas Golden
Ball as identified by the FIFA Technical Study Group (in
alphabetical order):
Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Architect of the team’s
attack, very influential, great impact for his team, provider of
quality final passes, goal scorer, set pieces/shots from long
range
Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
Huge work rate, efficient, good
dribbler, creates problems to each defence, good goal scorer
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Very fine ball-playing
attacking midfielder, a star for the team, impressive dribbling
ability
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Outstanding in his pace and
creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular
and efficient
Mesut Oezil (Germany)
A real talent for the present
and the future, quick feet and great vision, good final and
decisive passes
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Very good pace and
dribbling skills, wonderful ability to cut inside from the right,
effective to his team
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Impressive by his
first pass (forward and accurate), very good passer, has moments of
individual brilliance, ball-winner
Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
A maestro in midfield,
exceptional work rate, the engine of Netherland’s attacks,
excellent passer and scorer
David Villa (Spain)
Top scorer; quick, two footed,
very good on one-on-one situations, provides good final passes,
excellent finisher
Xavi (Spain)
The metronome and the engine of the
Spanish team, very influential in the passing style of the game,
one of the finest midfielders in the tournament
www.fifa.com