
Zurich: Lionel Messi is in the running for a third consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year award after being selected on Tuesday among the 23 candidates for the 2011 prize. Argentina forward Messi and seven of his teammates at European and Spanish champions Barcelona, including Xavi and Andres Iniesta whom the Argentine surprisingly beat last year, are on the Ballon d'Or shortlist, while archrivals Real Madrid have five players...

03:26 PM, Nov 01, 2011

Messi easily outdistanced the last two winners, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. ...

01:38 AM, Dec 22, 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo earlier won the Ballon d'Or for 2008. ...

12:07 AM, Jan 14, 2009

Ronaldo beat off competition from Lionel Messi, Xavi, Fernando Torres and Kaka. ...

11:40 PM, Jan 13, 2009
Karachi: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has urged his players to stand up and perform in the World Cup after a disappointing defeat against England in their warm-up match. "This is not the first time we are saying sorry for our performance. All of us as a team now have to perform and give our best in the World Cup," Afridi told Geo News channel in Mirpur, Dhaka. Afridi, who did...

12:07 PM, Dec 18, 2007

The 33-year-old Cannavaro, who captained Italy to its fourth World Cup title, finished with 498 points. ...

08:02 AM, Dec 19, 2006

Despite ending his career with a head-butt, Zidane was nominated for this year's FIFA World Player of the Year award. ...

03:11 PM, Oct 13, 2006