Best league in the world? La Liga trio make UEFA shortlist

THERE WEREN’T TOO many audible gasps when UEFA announced its nominees for the inaugural Best Player in Europe Award yesterday.

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo joins Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez on the three-man shortlist for the award, introduced last month to replace the old European Footballer of the Year prize.

Under the new criteria, players like Messi, who are based in a European league without originating from the continent, are now eligible to win European football’s most prestigious honour.

The La Liga stars received the highest number of votes from a panel of 53 journalists who were asked to nominate their top three players of the 2010/2011 season.

They now go forward to a final round of voting, with the winner set to be announced on 25 August.

Messi and Xavi’s Barcelona team-mate, Andres Iniesta, polled the fourth highest number of votes while FC Porto’s Radamel Falcao came in fifth.

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic were the only Premier League players to feature, coming in sixth and seventh place respectively, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gerard Pique and Manuel Neuer round out the top ten.

Ahead of the final round of voting, we take a look at look at some of the standout moments from each candidate’s season.

Lionel Messi

1. v Real Madrid (Champions League semi-final, first leg)

At the end of a game which might generously be described as “ungentlemanly,” Messi single-handedly restored our faith in football, slaloming past the Madrid challenges before tucking the ball past Casillas.

2. v Arsenal (Champions League quarter-final, second leg)

Trailing 2-1 from the first leg at the Emirates, Barcelona needed a moment of Messi magic to finally make the breakthrough in the return fixture. Forget about Cesc’s showboating — the ball from Iniesta was inch-perfect and Messi’s delicate dink and finish was out of this world.

3. v Villarreal (La Liga)

A goal which showcases everything that is good about Messi’s game – incredible vision and pace, and the technical ability to pull off a double one-two in tandem with Pedro.

Cristiano Ronaldo

1. v Real Zaragoza (La Liga)

He’s scored some free-kicks in his time, but this must be one of the best. Whether it did actually clock the rumoured 105 Km/h is irrelevant; the power and precision are plain for all to see.

2. v Atletico Madrid (La Liga)

Some would call it arrogant; others, unnecessary; others, inspired. As the ball dropped from the night sky, Ronaldo decided that this was the smartest and most efficient way to play the ball and nothing was going to stop him from doing so.

3. v Barcelona (Copa del Rey final)

Probably the biggest goal of Real Madrid’s season. With the league slipping out of their grasp, they desperately needed to strike a blow against their dear rivals, particularly with a two-legged Champions League semi-final around the corner. When the goal finally came in extra-time, it was that boy Ronaldo.

Xavi Hernandez

1. v Sevilla (La Liga)

When Xavi picked up the ball in his own half, there were nine players between him and the Sevilla goal. One pass later, he had set Leo Messi free, leaving the Argentine with only the keeper to beat and trusting him to do so.

2. v Madrid (La Liga)

In a season full of highs, the 5-0 Clasico win over Real Madrid was particularly significant for Barca. As the player with the most appearances ever for the Catalan club, it was only fitting that Xavi opened the scoring.

3. v Panathinaikos (Champions League group stages)

Few players would have spotted that a through ball to Messi was on. Even fewer would have had the ability to pull it off to such a high degree of precision. Practically perfect.

On the basis of the 2010/2011 season, who deserves the award?

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