THE BIGGEST NAMES in world football gathered at Kongresshaus in Zurich for the 2014 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony today.
We brought you all the winners and, as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Email ben@thescore.ie, tweet @football_.ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
You may need to manually refresh for embedded content to display correctly.
- Stephanie Roche comes second in the Puskas Award behind winner James Rodriguez. Robin van Persie is third.
- Cristiano Ronaldo wins his second consecutive Ballon d’or with Lionel Messi finishing runner-up ahead of Manuel Neuer.
Good afternoon, folks. While many of you will be finishing up an average mid-January Monday in work, Ireland strike Stephanie Roche is right now rubbing shoulders with the world’s best players.
Having remarkably made the final three of this year’s Puskas Award for her spectacular finish for Pemaount United back in October 2013 (you’ve definitely seen it by now), the 26-year-old is attending the glamorous event in Zurich.
Roche is up against Manchester United and Dutch striker Robin van Persie and James Rodriguez, of Real Madrid and Colombia, and a winner will be announced in the coming hours.
She has already met one of the other finalists today, as well as legendary Italian Alessandro Del Piero. Incidentally, Van Persie won’t be in attendance as he injured himself during yesterday’s defeat to Southampton.
If the Dutchman does win, his compatriot Ruud Gullit will pick up the award on his behalf.
There is also the small matter of the Fifa Ballon d’Or prize, which Ronaldo will be aiming to win for the second consecutive year. He is up against old rival Lionel Messi, a former winner, and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Here’s the trio earlier today:
Steph and her boyfriend Dean Zambra have arrived in the past few minutes:
You can watch the event live on Fifa’s YouTube channel, on the RTE Player from 5.30pm or on Sky Sports.
Another year, another dodgy suit from Lionel Messi.
Right, tell us once and for all… which of the three goals is the best?
Poll Results:
You can still vote for your favourite here but only for the next few minutes. So it’s your very, VERY last chance.
While Roche has travelled with her father, brother, boyfriend, PR manager/boyfriend’s sister and a small number of the Irish media, the rest of the family will be watching down the local — Brady’s of Shankill.
Here we go then. Your host for tonight is Sky Sports presenter Katie Abdo.
Abdo explains that there is just under an hour to vote for your favourite goal, before showing all ten that made the long list. The winner is due to be announced at 6.30pm.
Del Piero is out on stage to help announce the FIFPro Team of the Year. No surprises to hear it’s Manuel Neuer in goal, with Sergio Ramos, Philipp Lahm, David Luiz and Thiago Silva making up the back four. Yes, David Luiz.
The midfield trio is Angel Di Maria, Andres Iniesta and Toni Kroos, while Arjen Robben, Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo make up a frightening attack.
Jamie Carragher isn’t alone in expressing his surprise at one particular inclusion:
Next, Fifa president Sepp Blatter names 90-year-old Hiroshi Kagawa, a former Japanese international turned journalist, as the winner of this year’s Presidential Award.
In French, Blatter remembers the tragic events of the past week by adding: “Tonight, we are all Charlie”.
Vfl Wolfsburg’s Ralf Kellermann wins Women’s Coach of the Year. He uses his acceptance speech to pay tribute to Junior Malanda, the 20-year-old Wolfsburg player who died in a car crash this week.
And Germany’s Joachim Löw claims Men’s Coach of the Year after their World Cup victory in Brazil last summer.
The voting has officially CLOSED for the Puskas Award. We’re about five minutes away from finding out the winner. C’mon Steph!
Just when we think we are getting the Puskas Award winner announced…. the host introduces ‘a singer-songwriter from Switzerland’.
My lord, talk about filler!
The singer is finished now and we are seeing a montage previewing next year’s women’s World Cup.
Former Real Madrid star Christian Karembeu is on now to discuss the fight against Ebola.
That’s tough on Stephanie Roche but even to make the final three is an amazing achievement.
And just like that, the ceremony moves on. Manuel Neuer is now being interviewed on stage. Can we not have a few minutes to grieve??
Apparently Steph Roche was 9% short of winning.
Apparently 1.1 million people voted for Steph Roche, which shows how much support there was for the goal.
The very best of luck!! Here’s to a well deserved win!
I’m hoping everyone has vote for Stephanie. Her goal is by far the better of the three
She is also by far the only one of the 3 I would snog.
But that aside her goal was a cracker. Best of luck to her. She deserves the win
seconded.
Messi looks really impressed with Ronaldo’s arm around his shoulder,
#bigbaby
The article states that Stephanie met Alessandro Del Piero. I prefer “Alessandro Del Piero met Stephanie Roche…” She’s outstanding.
David Luiz on a team of the year is shocking..
Unbelievable. Dunphy will doing his nut.
Has to be one of the worst defendersnin the world cup. What a joke.
Side show Bob
Best of luck Stephanie. .
Absolutely no reason why you can’t win it…
If it was up to me I’d give it to her
I’d rather give it to Messi’s missus
James is a gent
Simply the best goal of the 3 nominees… irrespective of gender. Would be a worthy winner – best of luck!
Ah come on now, it was good but the RVP goal was almost superhuman in comparison.
You’re forgetting that he’s not Irish so that doesn’t matter
Very good goal but I do thinks it’s getting hyped up more! But Rodriguez hit was my favorite then RVP header.
How the fcuk did David Luiz get in the team of the year
Forget the goal. That presenter would get absolutely slaughtered. She looks unreal tonight!!
Go on girl, gimme a reason to get in some bottles!
Best of luck Stephanie!!!
Stephane’s boyfriend overachieved!!!!
Kate Abdo apologising because she doesnt speak Portuguese. She’s incredible.
Good luck
Go Stephanie!!
David Luiz in the team of the year!!??!?! Ffs the German players who waltzed round him 40 times in the WC semis must have all voted for him!
Watch it Live on YouTube in an hour. Best of luck
it’s on the RTE Player too.
Messi looks totally out of place in that photo – like a teenager with bad acne who refused to put on a decent shirt and is now being forced into the shoot for the Christmas card. He’d rather be ANYWHERE than standing between Neuer and Ronaldo.
Anyway, go Stephanie. Your goal was the best by a country mile.
I think Messi is well over not being the tallest or most handsome in the pack by, you know, being the best footballer in the world and getting away with stepping out in dodgy suits with Ms.Roccuzzo!
Good luck to Stephanie, but James goal should win it.
Luiz in the team of the year. Are they for real. What about Godin. No atletico players in the team.
No Atletico players even got in the La Liga team of the year!
Thiago Silva at full back, what a joke!
Its a shame she did not win it but theres no shame in losing to the world cups top scorer at this years finals. She done herself and her country proud
Oh this is car crash! Fifa should have gotten the folks behind any of the Eurovision’s to produce this show. Awful stuff. Kate is the best part.
Spoilsport time – why is the goal even up for consideration when it was scored in 2013?
It just missed the date for entrants the last time I think?
Ronaldo will be happy. He didn’t even have a goal in the competition and now he’s in the top 3. Is there anything he can’t do!
Shag
For the quality of the goal alone, she deserves it, and the fact that she is one of our own…..well that says it all really, for me at leasy. Nothing to do with gender. Just pure quality.
Fix, Fifa can’t be trusted
Thank god that’s the end of that
Do the math, Columbia has a population of 48 million, Ireland less than 5 million.
I did maths in school.
Is the answer 42?
Only 3.3 million voted…
This girl isn’t in the media enough, shys away from publicity in a big way, today I went a whole 5 minutes without hearing about her on Twitter/fb/radio…the lack of exposure is disgraceful
Unlucky Stephanie 33% of the votes, fantastic, I think maybe the occasion and stadium swung it for Rodriguez
Rodriguez and Van Persie in exalted company on this one
Messi’ suit is very controversial
But hey.. It’s not a fashion show
That’s some bullshit
Would be blooody great she got it.three votes from me.
.Stephanie!
It’s a sham.. Wesley Sneidjer in ahead of Luis Suarez
Eh !!!?? Where is sneider mentioned?!?
My mistake I got me baldies mixed up
Is that Ronaldo or Derek Zoolander
Me nerves!!!!! Come on steph!!!!!!!
It’s torture. 5 mins away and no update for 8 minutes. Maybe it’s my browser……bleedin technology
There’s some doing Eurovision type song thing on stage at the moment.
Great goal, fair play to him
Imagine being Irish and it being Henry that presented you with a best goal award……
Ronaldo is king of the world once again as he beats Leonardo Di Caprio to the coveted title.
My God that lad they had singing was shocking. Terrible song too. You think they could afford someone good.
Come on firl
C’mon the f**k FIFA….
David Luiz in world team has to be joke
So nearly Steph…… Hard luck! Ireland like only 1/2 the size of Columbia and she managed to pass Van Persie out! Impressive for an Irish girl
You may not have won out there Stephanie but you won here at home you done us all proud a great bit of football engineering there is many a football professional who would loved to have scored a goal that way and they never did