FIFA BALLON D'OR 2011

It could be said without fear of contradiction that the FIFA Ballon D’or at this point in time is the highest award in the game of football on the planet. It is in this light that the world earnestly awaits the star-studded event which will be unveiling the second FIFA Ballon d’Or winner, while the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football and Women’s Football will also be named, along with the winner of the FIFA Puskas Award and a clutch of other accolades.

Argentina and Barcelona  forward heads a three-player shortlist, alongside Barcelona teammate Xavi Hernandez and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and seeks to win for a third straight year.

If Lionel Messi wins tonight, he’ll be the second player after France great Michel Platini to ever claim that trophy for three consecutive years, winning from 1983-85 in an era in which only European players were eligible.

While the men’s coaching award pits Pep Guardiola of Barca against 2010 winner Jose Mourinho, whose Madrid side won the Spanish Cup but was runner-up for all other domestic honours and lost a bad-tempered Champions League semifinal to its great Catalan rival.

The third coaching candidate is Alex Ferguson, who guided Manchester United to a record 19th English title before being eventually outclassed in a memorable Champions League final.

The two clubs are also sure to feature prominently in a World XI line-up chosen by Fifa and the FIFPro group of players’ unions worldwide.

Barcelona’s dominance could be matched in the women’s awards by Japan’s World Cup-winning team. Tournament top-scorer Homare Sawa aims to end Brazil forward Marta’s five-year hold on the world’s best women’s player award.

Marta helped Western New York Flash win the Women’s Professional Soccer title, but the United States ousted Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals on its way to the final.

US forward Abby Wambach completes the shortlist after scoring four trademark headers in Germany, and a penalty in the shootout defeat which made Japan world champion.

Japan’s Norio Sasaki and Pia Sundhage of the US will contest the award for best coach of a women’s team with France’s Bruno Bini.

The four main awards were voted on by coaches and captains of national teams worldwide, plus invited journalists. Each group’s votes from 23-player and 10-coach candidate lists count for one-third of the total.

All voters were asked to rate their top three and weigh “sporting performance and general behavior both on and off the pitch.” Five points were allocated to the winner, three points for second choice and one point for the third-place player on the voting slip.

Fifa will also present a Fair Play prize rewarding sportsmanship and a Presidential Award at the discretion of Sepp Blatter.