The FIFA World Player of the Year shortlist, which is long at 30 players, was released on Wednesday, featuring five players from 2006 world champion Italy, four from England, four from France, three from Brazil and three from Argentina. Italy’s national team candidates include defending World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro of Real Madrid, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus, and AC Milan trio Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta and Andrea Pirlo. Surprisingly, last season’s Serie A top scorer Francesco Totti of AS Roma was omitted.
England, meanwhile, was represented by Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, Frank Lampard and John Terry of Chelsea, and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United. France’s Thierry Henry of Arsenal/Barcelona, Lilian Thuram of Barcelona, Franck Ribery of Marseille/Bayern Munich and Patrick Vieira of Inter Milan all made the list, as did Brazil’s Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Juninho Pernambucano (Lyon) and Kaka (AC Milan). Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors/Villarreal) and Carlos Tevez (West Ham/Manchester United) represented Argentina.
Most pundits think the winner will be either Kaka or Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Manchester United. Dark horses seldom win the prestigious award, but Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Ivory Coast, Ruud van Nistelrooy of Real Madrid and the Netherlands, Messi and Riquelme could all surprise.