Barcelona forward Lionel Messi captured the 2009 Ballon D’Or by the largest margin ever on Tuesday. The award is given to the European Footballer of the Year and Messi is the first Argentine to win. Messi received 473 of a possible 480 points to take top honors. Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo finished second, while Messi’s Barca teammate Xavi came in third.
It is a deserved award for Messi, who led Barcelona to the treble last season. The talented forward led the Champions League in goals with nine, including one in the final. He also scored 23 goals in La Liga competition. An incredibly dynamic player, Messi has the ability to change any game he plays with his sublime touch and deceptive quickness. He’s already off to a great start this year with nine goals.
2009 Ballon D’Or Results
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Real Madrid)
3. Xavi (Barcelona)
4. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
5. Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona/Inter)
6. Kaka (AC Milan/Real Madrid)
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter/Barcelona)
8. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
After another international break, the Premier League is back in action this weekend. The injured stars of Liverpool will also be back on the pitch this weekend (thank goodness). The injured Reds were: Steven Gerrard, David Ngog, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Albert Riera, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun. Torres is the only one still out, so yay for that international break. Man City is one point up on Liverpool in the table, so it’s a must-win game for Liverpool if they want to work their way back into the top four. The Reds have only won one game since Sept. 26 so they need to start winning now to get things back on track.
Saturday, November 21
Liverpool vs. Manchester City – 7:30 a.m. ET/ESPN2 (Live)
Birmingham vs. Fulham – 8:30 p.m. ET/Setanta (Delayed)
Burnley vs. Aston Villa – 5 p.m. ET/Setanta (Delayed)
Chelsea vs. Wolves – 9:30 a.m. ET/Setanta (Live)
Hull vs. West Ham – 7 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
Sunderland vs. Arsenal – 10 a.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)
Manchester United vs. Everton – 12:30 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)
Sunday, November 22
Bolton vs. Blackburn – 8:25 a.m. ET/Setanta (Live)
Tottenham vs. Wigan – 5 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
Stoke vs. Portsmouth – 11 a.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)
Liverpool drew with Birmingham City today, 2-2. By all accounts, they were lucky to get the draw as Steven Gerrard scored the equalizer on a dubious penalty. It’s definitely a game the Reds should have won (at home!). On a somewhat positive note, Alberto Aquilani saw his first action at Anfield. Also, Gerrard and Glen Johnson returned from injury. On a sour note, other than the draw, Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera picked up injuries. Apparently, the hamstring muscle seriously hates Liverpool as manager Rafa Benitez fears that both Benayoun and Riera tore theirs.
The international break definitely comes at a good time for Liverpool since it seems as if half the squad is injured. The two week layoff will do the team good so long as no one picks up any knocks on international duty.
finish in the top four of the Premier League. Despite Chelsea’s chippy 1-0 win over Manchester United, both teams look poised to stay in the top four (likely top two). Arsenal has also surprised people this season; the Gunners are playing really good football. At this rate, it’s going to be some sort of miracle if the Reds even finish in the top seven – yay Europa League!
keep Torres and Gerrard healthy the rest of the season. Torres leads the league in goals, but the Gernando partnership hasn’t had much chance to flourish as both players have struggled with injury, much like last season. This year however, the team is even more reliant on them to carry the load. The two stars aren’t the only ones having injury issues though; Glen Johnson missed a couple games as well. Albert Riera hasn’t been 100% either.
advance to the knockout stage in Champions League play. Liverpool won its opening group game against Debrecen, but have only taken one point out of the next three. They are no longer in control of their own fate, which is a very scary and undesirable place to be. Group leader Lyon has already booked a spot in the next round, while Fiorentina only needs to win once to advance.
beat Birmingham City. I can’t believe I just had to write that.
Liverpool could not sustain the momentum from a big win against Manchester United, falling 3-1 to Fulham on Saturday. Both Jamie Carragher and Phillip Degen got sent off for the Reds (the first red cards since the 2007/08 season, I believe). The squad was without Steven Gerrard (again) as well as Glen Johnson. Pretty much the lone bright spot for the Reds has been Fernando Torres, who leads the league with 10 goals in 11 games. The team’s struggles highlight the lack of depth, but that’s a story for another time. It seems as if most of the team is injured and/or sick going into this week’s Champions League clash away to Lyon, which is a must-win if they want any chance at advancing to the knockout stage. Things are not looking positive for Liverpool right now. The team has already lost five games, more than double the number they did last year! Barring an epic collapse from Chelsea/Manchester United and ridiculously improved form from the Reds, you can kiss any title chances good-bye.
Speaking of Chelsea, they are pretty much kicking ass right now. The Blues have won four straight and have been beating the crap out of their opponents, including a 4-0 thrashing of Blackburn at the weekend.
West Ham and Portsmouth are struggling mightily. Both teams have a mere seven points. Hull City isn’t faring much better as they sit 18th with eight points.
FIFA10 is awesome. I’ll admit that I’m a newcomer to the video game scene, but it’s a pretty easy game to pick up and it’s really fun to play. Although, it’s slightly frustrating to see my FIFA Liverpool doing much better than the real team.
