The FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 gala is 35 days away from taking place and the shortlists for the men’s awards have been revealed.
Most football fans are particularly interested in the player award nomination. Lionel Messi, who is the reigning champion, is poised to retain his title. However, his 2011 Copa America fiasco with Argentina could cost him a ball made of gold. A potential contender would be Luis Suarez. The ex-Ajax striker was controversially omitted from the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or award list.

Expectedly, Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been named alongside Messi whereas Sergio Aguero, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Luis Suarez are the only English Premier League-based players in the list.

Interestingly, young Brazilian star Neymar is part of it. Copa America hero Diego Forlan and Anzhi Makhachkala’s Samuel Eto’o have been included as well.

In the managers’ list, Copa del Rey winner Jose Mourinho and UEFA Champions League titleholder Pep Guardiola appear as the favorites. Treble winner Andre Villas-Boas, Uruguay’s Oscar Tabarez and Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson have also been named.

The 23-man list for the FIFA Ballon d’Or Player of the Year award goes as follows in alphabetic order:

Éric Abidal (France) / Sergio Agüero (Argentina) / Karim Benzema (France) / Iker Casillas (Spain) / Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) / Dani Alves (Brazil) / Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) / Cesc Fàbregas (Spain) / Diego Forlán (Uruguay) / Andrés Iniesta (Spain) / Lionel Messi (Argentina) / Thomas Müller (Germany) / Nani (Portugal) / Neymar (Brazil) / Mesut Özil (Germany) / Gerard Piqué (Spain) / Wayne Rooney (England) / Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) / Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) / Luis Suárez (Uruguay) / David Villa (Spain) / Xabi Alonso (Spain) / Xavi (Spain)

The 10-man list for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s 2011 goes as follows:

Vicente Del Bosque (Spain/Spain national team) / Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United FC) / Rudi Garcia (France/Lille OSC) / Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Barcelona) / Jürgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund) / Joachim Löw (Germany/Germany national team) / José Mourinho (Portugal/Real Madrid) / Óscar Tabárez (Uruguay/Uruguay national team) / André Villas-Boas (Portugal/FC Porto, Chelsea FC) /Arsène Wenger (France/Arsenal FC)