It's Official; Lionel Messi Wins the Balon d'Or

Not surprisingly, Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been named the FIFA Men's World Player of the Year for 2010. He is unstoppable, and clearly the greatest player in the world right now.

Messi was on a three-man shortlist with Barca team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta but, despite Spain's World Cup triumph, the Argentina forward came out on top in the voting.

He becomes the first winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which merges France Football magazine's European Footballer of the Year prize with the FIFA World Player of the Year. The awards were based on the votes of the coaches and captains of national sides as well as global journalists.

Messi scored more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2010, with 42 goals in 36 La Liga games, as well as finishing top scorer in the Champions League in 2010 with 12 goals in 12 games.

Here's 12 minutes of greatness:


Messi was on a three-man shortlist with Barca team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta but, despite Spain's World Cup triumph, the Argentina forward came out on top in the voting.

He becomes the first winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which merges France Football magazine's European Footballer of the Year prize with the FIFA World Player of the Year. The awards were based on the votes of the coaches and captains of national sides as well as global journalists.

Messi scored more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2010, with 42 goals in 36 La Liga games, as well as finishing top scorer in the Champions League in 2010 with 12 goals in 12 games.

He totalled 60 goals for the year for club and country.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to win today, but it was already great to be here next to my two mates," Messi said as he accepted the award. "To win it makes it even more special.

"I want to share with all of my friends, my family, all the Barcelonistas and the Argentinians."

He totalled 60 goals for the year for club and country.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to win today, but it was already great to be here next to my two mates," Messi said as he accepted the award. "To win it makes it even more special.

"I want to share with all of my friends, my family, all the Barcelonistas and the Argentinians."

Arsenal Draw Barcelona in The Champions League Knockout Stages

2006 Champions League Final, a day Arsenal fans will remember forever as the day Barca beat our beloved Gunners in the dying moments of le' grande finale.

Last season, quarter-finals, Barca again emerge victorious yet again.

Well it is now retribution time.  The two have been paired again.  Speaking on the draw, Arsene Wenger is being careful with his words it seems...

"My reaction is very simple - difficult but possible," Arsene Wenger told Arsenal's official website. "I didn't want anybody really, in that all teams would have been difficult. You could have said that Schalke - a team with less history in the Champions League - would have been easier maybe, but the advantage is that we will be on our toes and we'll be ready.

"Revenge is not on my mind. We want to qualify and we want to knock them out. So is it difficult? Yes. Is it possible? Yes.

"Barcelona are certainly the favourites [for the competition] and a famous team but, on their side, they did not want us either because they know they will get a game. I think we are better than last year and we have a good opportunity to show that."

'The Kids Are Alright,' A Barcelona Tribute Piece

Before I say anything, you must read Phil Ball's fantastic look into the youth academy at Barcelona through the stories of three of the world's premier footballers (also the three players in line to win this years Ballon d'Or); Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Lionel Messi. I'll wait for you to get back...

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=852733&sec=europe&root=europe&cc=5901

For those that didn't read, it's about the strength of the Barcelona youth academy, the top stars it's churned out, and the mental rigors this type environment places on teenagers. In America, we don't have this system in place because A) we aren't looking for the next Maradona within our ranks (the next Kobe maybe) and B) the American sports system isn't setup for an 18 year old star to emerge. Save for the Lebron's of the world, American superstar athletes are expected to emerge after a steady high school and college career.

To the untrained eye (and some trained), Landon Donovan is the best American soccer player the red white and blue have today. We should recall that he followed the European model, Donovan moved to Germany to join powerhouse Bayern Leverkusen at 17. He fanned out due to home sickness (not unlike the Barcelona stars in Ball's ESPN piece), but the long term success of his career still proves out the early sacrifices he made.

In the great ranks of European football, the sacrifice to become the best starts at a young age, and there is no room for slip ups. While success might come as a sacrifice to youth, those that make it out and become the Messi's of the world are proof in the system.