The official Ballon D'or and Coach of the Year contenders for 2014 have been announced in the past few hours, with some interesting additions and surprise omissions to those nominees.
OFFICIAL CONTENDER'S LIST FOR BALLON D'OR:
Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos (all from Real Madrid).
Mario Gotze, Phillip Lahm, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer (all from Bayern)
Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Neymar and Javier Mascherano (all from Barcelona).
Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa (all from Chelsea)
Angel di Maria (Manchester United)
Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG)
Paul Pogba (Juventus - ONE TO WATCH)
The favourites -
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon D'Or trophy four times, making him the most-awarded player in history. It's clear to see even though he had an injury-plagued season, he flourished with Barcelona as they narrowly missed out on winning La Liga, as Atlético fought hard to win on the last day. World Cup? A great one for Lionel - fired Argentina to the final but unluckily lost late on. He'll be hoping for victory next time.
Cristiano Ronaldo is also another favourite, his current goal-scoring record means that he is in unstoppable form at the moment and deserves to be known as one of the best players in world football ever, let alone currently. Plus the fact that the 29-year-old Portuguese star won the award last year, he will be heavily tipped to replicate his cluster of awards in January.
Manuel Neuer has done his best to prove himself as the world's best goalkeeper, and deserves that title. Not only has he won many awards and trophies with Bayern, but he has helped contribute to the side when needed with vital saves and solid performances against some of the world's best players. Go back to the World Cup, where he was the brick wall between defence and the goal - charging out of his area to sweep up any danger. Germany are lucky to have such a prized asset in their team.
The outsiders -
Angel di Maria - The £60million signing has already put his own spin on English football following his big-money move from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, but before that, established himself as one of the best playmakers in the world in his last season at Real. 4 goals, 17 assists and 90 chances created in the league alone, no wonder Ronaldo was annoyed he was allowed to leave.
Diego Costa - The Spanish striker enjoyed a great season with Atlético Madrid before a summer move to Chelsea, and despite having troublesome hamstrings, it has not stopped his impressive goalscoring record in La Liga. He has set the Premier League on-fire with his clinical goalscoring record so far, and could be the missing piece in Chelsea's puzzle.
Mario Gotze - A World Cup winner at just age 22, scoring the winning goal in the final doesn't get any better than that? Even if the German playmaker does not win the award, which is highly likely that he will not based on the talent he is competing against, he will probably get a special mention. Despite being a bit-part player at times for the national team, he featured and performed to the highest level when required, a commendable achievement in its own right.
SURPRISE OMISSIONS?
Xavi - A shame, a real shame. This year sees the first time that Xavi has not been included in the 23-man list since 2007, due to a combination of lack of first-team opportunities with Barca and the poor showing overall for Spain in the World Cup most probably. He's not getting any younger at 33, and despite his obvious quality and experience, there are fears that he will not be included in the future either. Dying breed?
Luis Suárez - People will continue to argue for months now, that the then-Liverpool striker Suárez has been omitted from the 23-man nominee list. It certainly is not a question of quality, but his behaviour at the recent World Cup was both disgusting and hugely disappointing for anyone involved in the sport. So yes, it is a surprise that he has been omitted. Especially as he won the Golden Shoe a few weeks ago, and is back playing football for new club Barcelona. But on-form, one of the best strikers in the world without a doubt.
Keylor Navas - The new Real goalkeeper starred in the World Cup for Costa Rica, as well as contributing massively to Levante's 2013-14 campaign in La Liga. Won an award at the La Liga gala awards yesterday, deserves a mention for sure!
Miranda and Diego Godin - The Atlético defensive duo were an integral part of Simeone's side last season, as they helped the club to get to the UCL final and win their first league title for 10 years. Strength, power, agility and defensive qualities galore between them, arguably some of the best centre-backs in the world and consistent. How they have not been included is a huge surprise.
OFFICIAL CONTENDER'S LIST FOR COACH OF THE YEAR:
Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Louis van Gaal (Manchester United), Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Pep Guardiola (Bayern), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Jurgen Klinsmann (USA), Joachim Low (Germany), Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City), Alejandro Sabella (Argentina) and Diego Simeone (Atlético).
The obvious favourites for the coach of the year award would have to be a toss-up between Ancelotti, Guardiola and Low.
but, it is not as easy as it seems, believe it or not. Ancelotti spurred his Real side to win their 10th Champions League trophy, whilst Guardiola's Bayern took a sweep of trophies and awards in Germany. Pellegrini won the Premier League with City last season, a good achievement given how everyone was expecting Liverpool to snatch it late on, whilst Simeone and Conte won domestic trophies in Spain and Italy respectively.
And, Mourinho did not win anything with Chelsea, but will still be involved somehow. This award will not be as easy to decide, because every manager has a good reason to win respectively.