FIFA BEST AWARDS

Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi to win Fifa best male player award

Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world's best male player at the 2017 Best Fifa Football Awards in London.

The Real Madrid and Portugal forward beat Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Paris St-Germain's Neymar to the honour.

Ronaldo, 32, helped Real to a Champions League-La Liga double in 2016-17.

Lieke Martens of Barcelona and the Netherlands won best female player, Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane was named best men's coach and Netherlands' Sarina Wiegman the best female coach.

Arsenal's Olivier Giroud received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2017 for his 'scorpion kick' against Crystal Palace in January.

Celtic won the fan award after they honoured the club's 1967 'Lisbon Lions' with a stunning 360-degree card display on the 50th anniversary of their historic European Cup win.

Quiz: Best Fifa Football Awards 2017 - who picked who?

Relive the awards ceremony

What's the difference between the Ballon d'Or and Best Fifa?

This is the second edition of the Best Fifa Football Awards, which are different to the Ballon d'Or.

A version of the Ballon d'Or has been awarded by France Football magazine since 1956, but world football's governing body has ended its association with that honour.

Instead, it introduced the Best Fifa Football Awards, with Ronaldo the first recipient of its main prize in January.

Voting for the player and coach categories was by national team captains and managers, selected journalists and, for the first time, an online poll of fans. Each accounted for 25% of the total.

Best Fifa men's player - Cristiano Ronaldo

It has been another hugely impressive year for Ronaldo, who won the inaugural Best Fifa Football Awards gong on the back of leading Portugal to victory at Euro 2016.

Player stats in 2017 (all comps)

Ronaldo Messi Neymar

Games played 37 46 38

Goals 33 46 24

Mins/Goal 96.79 88.22 139.75

Assists 6 13 15

This year he scored two goals in Real's 4-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final and also found the net 25 times in 29 appearances as his club won La Liga for the first time in five years.

"We are in England for the first time, and I win it for the second consecutive time. This is a great moment for me," Ronaldo told the ceremony audience at the London Palladium.

Men's player - top three

Cristiano Ronaldo - 43.16 % Lionel Messi - 19.25 % Neymar - 6.97%

Messi voted for Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez as his best player, while Ronaldo also opted for a team-mate at Real - Luka Modric.

England boss Gareth Southgate went for Ronaldo.

Best Fifa women's player - Lieke Martens

Martens, 24, was instrumental in the Netherlands' European Championship victory this summer, winning the player of the tournament accolade.

She saw off competition from 2016 winner Carli Lloyd of the United States and Deyna Castellanos, the 18-year-old Venezuelan forward.

Women's player - top three

Lieke Martens - 21.72 % Carli Lloyd - 16.28 % Deyna Castellanos - 11.69%

Fifpro World XI

Fifa made three changes to the side selected in 2016. Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon replaced Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer, while AC Milan's Leonardo Bonucci replaced Barcelona's Gerard Pique in defence and PSG forward Neymar came in for Luis Suarez in attack.

The line-up featured five players from Real Madrid, two from Barcelona, two from PSG, one from Juventus and one from AC Milan. No Premier League players were included.

BEST men's coach

Real ended last season as the champions of Spain for the first time since 2012 and champions of Europe for the second successive season.

Zidane won the award ahead of Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, who lifted the Premier League title in his first season, and Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri, who led his team to a league and cup double in Serie A and Coppa Italia.

Men's coach - top three

Zinedine Zidane - 46.22% Antonio Conte - 11.62% Massimiliano Allegri - 8.78%

BEST women's coach

Netherlands coach Wiegman led the Netherlands to the Euro 2017 title on home soil, playing excellent attacking football. It was their first major women's international title after a thrilling victory over Denmark in the final.

Women's coach - top three

Sarina Wiegman - 36.24% Nils Nielsen - 12.64% Gerard Precheur - 9.37%

PUSKAS award for best goal

The best goal of 2017 was, officially, scored by Arsenal's Giroud.

It came in the Premier League match against Palace on New Year's Day, the France forward converting a superb 'scorpion' kick volley in which he flicked an Alexis Sanchez cross from behind him over his shoulder and into the goal, via the crossbar, with his left heel

BEST goalkeeper

A World Cup winner, a 10-time Serie A winner, and now Gianluigi Buffon is the first winner of the best goalkeeper award.

The veteran Italian helped Juventus to a sixth consecutive league title and went 600 minutes without conceding in the Champions League.

Buffon, 39, won the award ahead of Keylor Navas, part of a Real Madrid's Champions League and La Liga double-winning side, and Manuel Neuer, who helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga.

"This is a great honour to receive this award at my age," Buffon said.

Fair play award

The ceremony also included the FAIR PLAY AWARD, which recognised the gesture by Togolese player Francis Kone, who performed life-saving first aid on Bohemians 1905 goalkeeper Martin Berkovec during a Czech League game in February.

 


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ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKEND REVIEW

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have found killer touch this season

 The Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said: ‘Last season we had that feeling we weren’t going to score but now we’ve got it.’ Photograph: Victoria Haydn/(Credit too long, see caption) 

Balance the key to unbeaten start, says coach after Stoke rout 

• ‘This season we feel that, if we arrive, we will score’ 

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have found the crucial attacking edge they lacked last season after Stoke City were hammered 7-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

The victory made City the Premier League leaders, two points ahead of Manchester United. In the corresponding fixture last season City could only draw 0-0; Saturday’s win took them to 29 league goals this campaign, the most after eight matches since Everton in 1894.

Asked if this indicated City were showing the killer touch missing during his opening year in charge, Guardiola said: “Last season we had that feeling we weren’t going to score a goal but now we’ve got it. We have the feeling that, if we arrive, we will score a goal. Of course it’s so important. We play to score goals. Ever since I arrived we have wanted to make our game. We want to do our game.

Kevin De Bruyne leads the way as Manchester City thrash Stoke 7-2

Read more

“In the game against Crystal Palace when we won 5-0, the first 20 to 25 minutes everything was there but we were waiting for the ball boys for five or 10 seconds, and when that happens, the teams who want to [can] defend and use the counterattacks.

“We are almost the same guys as last season but now we have the feeling we are going to score a goal. Don’t ask me why, because the principles, as I have repeated many times, are the same. We have to increase the little details, to do things quick and simple. With that rhythm, we create more chances and goals.”

Last season Guardiola repeatedly pointed not only to a lack of attacking edge but to City’s failure to defend well enough, including after the 1-1 draws with Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough in successive home games during October and November.

Yet so far this campaign City have conceded only four times and Guardiola believes they have become more ruthless when sides come at them. “I know there is a tendency to split attack and defence,” he said. “In football you cannot. So, when you attack well, you defend well and, when you defend well, you attack well. When you have the feeling you are going to score goals, you defend better. When you defend better in your actions, you are going to score more. It’s not a coincidence.

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“It’s difficult to find a team who have a lot of clean sheets but do not score goals. It’s so, so difficult to find it. Everything depends on everything. Football is dynamic: attack, defend, attack, defend, in a row. That’s why we have good statistics in those terms.”

This new balance was tested just after half-time. At this juncture City were 3-1 up with the excellent Kevin De Bruyne running the contest with his vision and superb technical ability. Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and David Silva had been answered by Mame Biram Diouf’s finish just before the break.

As Guardiola stated, City’s quickness of thought, passing and pressing had torn Mark Hughes’s side apart and there appeared no way back for Stoke. Yet when Kyle Walker put into his own goal on 46 minutes suddenly the visitors were only one behind and City had a test on their hands: might they crumble with nearly all of the second period remaining?

The answer came in a blistering 24-minute period in which City scored four times through Jesus, Fernandinho, Leroy Sané and Bernardo Silva, his first goal for the club.

All this happened without the injured Benjamin Mendy and with Sergio Agüero, who has six goals in six Premier League appearances, an unused substitute. Until Mendy’s knee injury his addition at left-back had markedly improved City because of his verve moving forward. The recruitment of the right-back Walker has elevated the side in similar fashion. The greater depth of squad Guardiola has after three transfer windows and the time he has had to imbue his approach into the players have also contributed to the 11-match unbeaten run with which City have started their season.

Last year City won their first 10 games then stuttered and fell away. Guardiola suggested this should not happen again, describing the side as more stable this time around.

“We are solid,” he said. “Of course the players have produced an outstanding performance and the mood in the locker room and the training sessions is excellent. Winning games helps to create that but the guys who came, like Mendy, like Bernardo, like Kyle, they are exceptional guys and they help us. Danilo helps as well, even though he has not played in the last games. They help the team. When that happens, the team is stable.”

John Stones, who struggled last season but now looks far more secure, concurred that the players believe they will not lose their momentum as they did last year. “I think so,” the central defender said. “I always say every day I’m learning – no matter if I’m playing well or having a little dip. That’s why I came here. It’s a season we know is a big one; there’ll be a lot of competition from other teams. We are hungry to do good things in the season and we have to strive for that as well.”

Booking Number:5QPYQKY20/10/2017 17:28:55

Code

Date

Event

Live/Prematch

Selection

5731

21/10/2017 15:00

Manchester City - Burnley

Normale

1X & Under(4.5)

5729

20/10/2017 20:00

West Ham - Brighton

Normale

1 Corner

5736

22/10/2017 13:30

Everton - Arsenal

Normale

Over(2.5)

5735

21/10/2017 17:30

Southampton - West Brom

Normale

1 Corner

5737

22/10/2017 16:00

Tottenham - Liverpool

Normale

X2/12

7526

22/10/2017 14:00

Benevento - Fiorentina

Normale

2

7529

22/10/2017 14:00

Torino - Roma

Normale

Over(2.5)

7530

22/10/2017 17:00

Udinese - Juventus

Normale

Over(2.5)

8220

21/10/2017 19:45

Barcelona - Malaga

Normale

Under(4.5)

6195

22/10/2017 20:00

Marseille - PSG

Normale

(1:0) 2 H

6187

21/10/2017 16:00

Monaco - Caen

Normale

Over(2.5)

6186

20/10/2017 19:45

St. Etienne - Montpellier

Normale

Over Corner(8.5)

6224

22/10/2017 15:45

SC Heerenveen - Vitesse Arnhem

Normale

12 & Ov(1.5)

2464

22/10/2017 13:30

Club Brugge - Royal Antwerp FC

Normale

12 & Ov(1.5)

4197

22/10/2017 12:35

Shanghai Sipg - Guangzhou R&f FC

Normale

Over(1.5)

4200

22/10/2017 12:35

Guangzhou Evergrande - Guizhou Zhicheng FC

Normale

12 & Ov(1.5)

3415

22/10/2017 17:30

Galatasaray - Fenerbahce

Normale

Over(2.5)

5837

20/10/2017 19:00

Jong Psv Eindhoven - RKC Waalwijk

Normale

12 & Ov(1.5)

5841

20/10/2017 19:00

Almere City FC - Cambuur Leeuwarden

Normale

GG

1553

22/10/2017 18:00

Al Ahly Cairo - ES Sahel

Normale

Yes

1552

21/10/2017 20:00

Wydad AC Casablanca - Union Sportive Médina d'Alger

Normale

1 & Under (4.5)

6939

20/10/2017 17:30

Narva JK Trans - FC Flora Tallinn

Normale

Over(2.5)

6949

21/10/2017 11:00

JK Sillamae Kalev - FCI Tallinn

Normale

Over(2.5)

7123

22/10/2017 02:00

Southern United - Auckland City FC

Normale

12 & Ov(1.5)

7133

22/10/2017 13:00

Bangkok United - Ratchaburi FC

Normale

1

7129

22/10/2017 12:00

Chonburi FC - Bangkok Glass FC

Normale

GG

7092

20/10/2017 19:45

Saint Patrick's Athletic FC - Cork City FC

Normale

1

7094

20/10/2017 19:45

Dundalk FC - Bohemians Dublin FC

Normale

1 & Under (4.5)

                         

• • Posted by:EkenniaDiamite

    
    

    
    

    
    
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