2007 FIFA World Player of the Year (Kind of) Shortlist

By: Bob | October 10th, 2007
   

kaka-fifa-player-of-year.jpgEvery year FIFA’s technical committee releases a list of the players who have been shortlisted for the FIFA World Player of the Year award and every year the list is about as short as a child’s Christmas wish list. This year there are 30 players who are in the running for the award. Unlike last year (inexplicably still getting comments on that post), there seems to be a consensus about who will hold the trophy on December 17 in Zurich.

The smart money is on Kaka. The AC Milan and Brazil forward already has the FIFPro Player of the Year trophy in his trophy case. I’ll be shocked if the coaches and captains of the various national teams don’t select him.

What is interesting is that some people are riled up about who isn’t on the not-so-shortlist. Francesco Totti isn’t there. Neither are Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Luca Toni. Instead, you have the same players who seemingly always make the list even if they didn’t have great years last year. Players like Fabio Cannavaro who won the award in 2006 and looked like a lost sheep for most of last season at Real Madrid, and Samuel Eto’o who was injured most of last season.

Here is the list. Which three would you select to be finalists and who do you think most deserves the award?

2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Nominees

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Petr Cech (Czech Republic), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Deco (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Michael Essien (Ghana), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Gennaro Gattuso (Italy), Steven Gerrard (England), Thierry Henry (France), Juninho (Brazil), Kaka (Brazil), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Frank Lampard (England), Rafael Marquez (Mexico), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Alessandro Nesta (Italy), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Franck Ribery (France), Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Wayne Rooney (England), John Terry (England), Carlos Tevez (Argentina), Lilian Thuram (France), Fernando Torres (Spain), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands), Patrick Vieira (France)


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  • united 4life
    lol ronaldo is the best players fuck u all..!
  • KAKA is THE BEST F*** THE REST!!!
  • Sebas
    I know Huntelaar is the best...
  • donya dos santos sadara
    cristiano is better player in world. but he is most angry.
  • Ali
    Messi is the best no doubt,he doesn't need some trophy to prove that,this award represents only bias and means nothing like last year..cannavaro the world best player,while Ronaldinho comes third after Zidane..what a joke!
  • nur
    kaka is the best he's HOT & the best player on earth n he wil win 2day.....
  • gerson
    kaka is the best n tomorrow his gonna win the. FIFA"s world player 2007
  • Edidhu Godwin
    christino ronaldo is simply the world best from nigeria
  • Luigi
    Kaka
    Ronaldinho
    Messi

    Ronaldinho may not be the asset to his team as he once was, but the brazilian player still has that natural flow and rythem of the game. My vote for #1 would be him or Kaka
  • Ana
    no doubt messi is the best.
    kaka and ronaldo are good but leo Messi is better.
  • Bobby
    RIQUELME IS DA BEST U GUYZ NID 2 WATCH MORE FOOTBALL !!!
  • Van
    Cristiano Ronaldo is definetely the best player of is generation, and a few generation before the rest is politics and market size.

    if he had been born in brazil,england, or, argentina he would be sacred player of the year without a doubt.
    P.S. Mike forget your lecture of soccer game give us your impressions on the canucks curling league.
  • Joshua
    Kaka is a very good player, Messi is an extremely good player but Cristiano Ronaldo is simply exceptionnal.Watch him, admire him, and enjoy the beautifulgame. We are privileged to see a player that stands out, in the same category as Pelé , Maradonna, Eusebio, Pusckas.Theres simply no player in the world since Maradona that dominates the game with such panache and talent.Ask Sir Alex Ferguson,who coach many good players,by the way Mike, you simply dont know what you are talking about, where did you get that "cheating stuff", you dont watch often the english premier league, do you?
  • antoine chigur
    and by the way ... kaka and messi dont play a lick of defense...Henry you are over the hill buddy.
  • antoine chigur
    kaka ?? player of the year ?? He only scored 8 goals in the whole italian season. 5 were spot kicks !! He only wins that bullshit award for milans champions league success. He did lead the champions league in scoring but look at who he scored the bulk of his goals against ... Anderlecht ??? Ridiculous !!!!! That award means nothing !! pure politics.
  • Thierry Henry
    Leo Messi is pretty good, but not as good as me.
    He might be in a few years though.
  • mohammed
    c.ronaldo sucks but messi is better the king of them is the inter fan zlaten ibrahimovic
  • Rick James
    Zidane Is the Best no Doubt!

    C. Ronaldo is a diver it has been proven, look it up on youtube!
  • nabu
    this shortlist of players is bullshit .just how can players like eto'o n viera get nominated.whatever happened to fabregas,ibrahamovic and the heir to zizou's throne -totti. why not take me in?
  • Freddy Adu
    I believe that French players are the best especially Zidane, Henry, and Vieira.

    Concerning Brazilian players, I believe that Kaka and Robinho are playing at the top of their game right now.

    Unfortunately, for the rest of the World, especially the Argentines, excluiding Leo Messi, I think that you all need to take Football 101 and learn the basics. IE: passing, dribbling, and shooting.
  • Thierry Henry
    fuck everyone else. I am the best.
  • Enzo Zidane
    Zizou would be the best but he retired :P
  • Zinedine Zidane
    1. Cristiano Ronaldo is an actor. He has performend amazing dives that even managed to fool refs.
    2. Thierry Henry, Kaka, and Robinho are the 3 best players!
  • LOrik
    kaka is the best and is the number one
  • Muhammad Awwal Abubakar
    Kaka deserves the world player of the year cos he helped Milan alot both Champions league and seria A, he is a good player.

    C. Ronaldo could have the title he's good anyway, he's still young. Is good to see young players involved, he can win next year.

    Messi could ve won but that did not happen becoz he did not win any medal, but is good by seeing him there, he can win next year.
  • ivan
    kaka is the best
  • arsenalboy
    overall wat the decision FIFA made in taking the votes all over the world so thats mean many ppl voted 4 kaka. this proves that kaka is undoubtedly is the best player right now.but no matter no player will ever be equal to the king of football i.e pele. he is the best all ever. and he will remains best AAMEEN.
  • prakash pandey
    not past not in present and not even future man like massi.east west massi is the best.for me massi is far best then ronaldo and kaka
  • hiroshi
    at least this is a shortlist worth creaming yr pants for. but the nominees list is straight off some 15 year old gamer's playstation squad. you can count with yr fingers how many in that list actually know how to kick a ball, amongst a buncha tabloid victims and adidas ads. why hasnt becks won this thing 5 years in a row, seriously.
  • Mike
    This one goes to Rick: Messi, a cheater?! What about Maradona's goal against England in '86?! Are you saying that Maradona wasn't the best?! You've got to be kidding!! What about Ronaldo?! Isn't he a cheater? How many penalties did he manage to get with his "cheating abilities"? Just for the record: Ronaldo is the King of cheating and diving in the penalty area. By the way, did you see Messi's performance against Espanhol yesterday? Can all of you tell me that Barcelona's team right now isn't just Messi + another 10 guys?! Be serious.
    P.S. Hey,Rick, Ronaldo isn't really a winger, he's a fake winger, he's really a striker who playes Left/Right
  • Quepugar
    Christiano Ronaldo is a Prolific Footballer, He has the ability of scoring, dribbling and giving perfect passes that can result into goals. I believed he can be World Best.
  • Elmer
    Kaka is one of the potential players in the entire World. He his the ability to drillble, he his the speed and so many abilities to carry a World Best Crown.
  • king
    1-Messi
    2-Kaka
    3-C.Ronaldo
  • Cinup
    Its Cristiano Ronaldo

    He is the most stylish Footballer ever Born.
  • Justin
    C.Ronaldo is the best you guys are just hating.
  • Shuzel
    FERNANDO TORRES BEST STRIKER IN THE WORLD !!!
  • Shuzel
    RIQUELME / MOST UNIQUE PLAYER IN THE WORLD - TOO GOOD
  • C.Ronaldo is d best no doubt n his consistancy is something 2 applaud about, reason, bcos he has contributed both in d champions league, d domestic league n playing a vital role in qualification f portugal in europe.
  • Big Lu
    Zlatan deserves this award. He is the most consistent player right now and has been for the past year.
  • i think
    1.Ronaldo
    2.Messi
    3.kaka
  • gosho
    I'm a Manchester United fan but i think that KAKA is the best player in the world at the moment.
  • Rick
    Seeing how FIFA's nomination policy is based on their favourite players rather than some who deserve to be there based on sheer performance, you can't trust them or the voters to make the right decision sometimes. How can they possibly think that Henry, Eto'o, and Vieira have done anything this year worthy of being nominated? They've all been injured for long periods of time this season. My guess is Henry got nominated solely because he became a Barcelona player. Where are players like Fabregas, Ibrahimovic, or even Totti, the Golden Boot winner does not even get nominated?

    It kind of shows that people only focus on headlines, or watch a few certain games and not even take into account what else has been happening. I think Kaka will win the award, but I don't think he deserves it more than C.Ronaldo, no way. In a way, that would almost be as stupid as Zidane being shortlisted in the final 3 for the award last year.

    I'm not saying Kaka isn't a great player, but seriously why overrate somebody who is inconsistent? If you look in recent history, the truly great players like Ronaldinho made the biggest difference when it came to winning the domestic leagues, not only because he was playing brilliantly, but because he could consistently perform the way he did. And he could do that throughout all the competitions he played in. Considering there is La Liga, the CL, domestic cup too, you're looking at about 50-60 matches in one season.

    Kaka did make a difference in the CL, but not in his own league, Milan only finished 4th despite the points penalty they were carrying, but that would still only have got them up to 3rd. In fact, they are still 9th this season! You're trying to tell me a guy who plays for a team that is currently 9th in Serie A is the best player in the world? Because if he was the bes, they would not be that low down the table. Even if your team reaches the CL final, that's still only 13 matches out of a 50-60 match season. No player deserves to be voted the best in the world because of 10-13 matches worth of play. That is simply not enough.

    As for Messi, he may be the best player in the world right now, but he has certainly not been the best throughout 2007, he's only just really started to perform from the start of the 07/08 season. I also find it hilarious that Messi fans say he should win because of his 'goal of the century', yet they conveniently forget to mention the moment where he repeated another infamous Maradona goal, a moment which wasn't football at all. He scored with his hand and ran off celebrating as if he scored it for real (the goal I don't think was disallowed), so I don't see why a cheater deserves to win the award this year.

    I also find it convenient that some people and the voters in particular think Kaka should win it because of the Champions League, yet I don't think anybody who has won the award had won the CL in the same year. It certainly hasn't happened within the last decade!

    C.Ronaldo should win it, a winger who is already 2-3 goals away from scoring 30 goals this year(yes, a winger) and has made many assists for both club and country this year, probably more assists than Kaka and Messi combined! He's been far more consistent than Kaka that's for sure. But the voters are too short-sighted to even take a good look at who should really win the award. That's the sad reality of it all.
  • Mike
    Messi
    Kaka and finally, Ronaldo

    Have you ever seen anything like Messi, besides Maradona, of course?
  • ma7mod
    cristiano is the best
  • Shuzel
    1. Riquelme (Genius)
    2. Kaka
    3. Messi
  • Shuzel
    Riquelme Best player in the world, without a doubt !!!
  • For me it goes…
    1. C.Ronaldo
    2. Kaka
    3. Messi

    These players are hot!!!!!!!!
  • paul
    fabregas should win world player of the year
  • paul
    garred shold not win full stop
    best player
    1.kaka
    2.messi
    3.ronaldo
  • paul
    gerrad should not win because he is english
    1.kaka
    2.messi
    3.fabregas
  • Stevo
    1.Ronaldo
    2.Kaka
    3.Messi

    Ronaldo has more consistancy than kaka!
  • noah
    1. Messi
    2. Messi
    3. Messi
  • 1.Steven Gerrard
    2.Kaka
    3.Messi
    4.Ronaldo
  • jenny20
    KAKA IS THE BEST PLAYER ALIVE... WHEN HE CRIES, HE CRIES TO GOD THANKING FOR BLESSING HIM, WHEN C.RONALDO CRIES-ITZ CUZ HEZ A SISSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Henry Nwosu
    i will give it to Thiery Henry
  • samantha1707
    cristiano ronaldo, kaka, messi
  • Mik
    1.C.Ronaldo by far, 2.Kaka and 3.Messi
  • Jerry k LEEKO
    KAKA, MESSI AND RONALDO ARE THE BEST
  • Jerry L king
    the best players are KAKA, MESSI, AND RONALDO
  • i will giv it 2 kaka,c.ronaldo,messi
  • zlatattak
    1. zlatan ibrahimovic.
    2. steven gerrard.
    3. karim benzema
  • wata trash 4 those saying KAKA, without fear or favour it is for the world's best winger CHRISTINO RONALDO.
  • Пафнутий Παπνούθ
    c.ronaldo[the best ever 7]deserves it!!!!wat on earth are all these dumbs talkin about????huh!!!!itz kool 2 say kaka,ronaldinho,totti but wat about messi!!!!he is underclass player he don't even matches sum players like r.van da vart,ribery,podoloski i mean he just like developing walcott[arsenal]....in brief he don't even stand a chance!!!!!!dumbs...
  • 1. kaka
    2. drogba
    3. messi
  • hawjen
    drogba.kaka ronaldinho
  • hawjen
    l think .1.kaka.2drogba.misse
  • Rick
    For me it goes...

    1. C.Ronaldo
    2. Kaka
    3. Messi

    People who say Kaka, do you really think that he deserves to win when he only played well in 10-13 matches in CL? If he is that inspirational to his team, then it didn't show in Serie A last season when they finished 4th, and it still isn't showing considering they are down in 9th this season.

    C.Ronaldo on the other hand has scored more goals/assists (almost 30 goals this year for club and country and he hasn't finished), helped Man Utd to Premier league which has 3 times as many matches as CL (which calls for consistant brilliance), reach the final of the domestic cup and the semis of CL. That's better than anything Barcelona achieved this season, which is why I put Messi 3rd, mostly because he was injured at some point as well.
  • WK
    1. Cristiano Ronaldo
    2. Lionel Messi
    3. Kaka
  • k.Bikramjit
    1.KAKA
    2.C.RONALDO
    3.MESSI
  • crouch
    1. messi- easily the best player in the world
    2. kaka- great player and leader
    3. drogba- powerful

    messi should win with ease, he is the most skilled player, quick, great shooter, passer, and is blessed with creativity. He truly is the next Maradona
  • JACK
    KAKA KAKA then KAKA thats the way it is!
  • mikefigo
    c.ronaldo should be given since kaka has already been shortlisted as the fifpro footballer of the year, maybe messi came second and kaka third
  • midfielder101
    Kaka iz zee best he gave ACM a ride to the champions league final if not the win but ACM is crazy but u no kaka 10 goals panna man and amazing speed man this guys gott 9 lungs well then its me of course im zee best and then messi/zidane
  • Anthony
    4 - Jamal Taha (Al-Gazal Al-Asmar)
  • Anthony
    1 - Pele
    2 - Flavio Conceicao
    3 - Michel Platini
  • MichMich
    1 - Kaka
    2 - C.Ronaldo
    3 - Messi
  • thomas
    for me they have to give for kaka
    2 c.ronaldo
    3 drogba or messi
  • alberto
    kaka of course there is nothing what to say kaka told all of us tha is the best
  • Sam
    Drogba, is the man, he should be the WFP 2007
  • Ziekxro
    Cristiano Ronaldo, Drogba & Kaka....Cristiano ron.. should take it.
  • krox
    messi is the best player in the world(2)kaka(3)c.ronaldo
  • lanre
    Steven Gerrard (MBE) is the best player in the world
  • guwor preye
    i thinnk the list is okay.but it was really shocking that a player like cesc fabregas was not included.the list should be 1 kaka 2Drogba 3Messi
  • lala
    Where's Younis Mahmoud from Iraq? Wasn't he nominated?
  • sanjin krupic
    are you kidding me? zlatan is not on the list? he scored 10 goals in 5 games this season and you mean to tell me hes not on the list? i refuse to participate in voting for this shit
  • Gabi
    LOOOOOL..FERNANDO TORRES IS THE ONLY SPANISH!!
    WHERE'S SILVA, VILLA, MORIENTES, RAUL?!?!
  • gc 28
    1. C.Ronaldo
    2. Kaka
    3. Drogba
  • raymond adongo
    1. Kaka
    2. Messi
    3. C. Ronaldo
  • Elisha,Malaysia
    Messi is the best at the moment.Kaka also a great player.It is very difficult to choose between this two but since Kaka had help Ac Milan to win the 2006/2007
    champion league so kaka deserved the award this time.Next year it will go to Messi or Ronaldinho.Actually christiano ronaldo also doing well but not as good as messi and kaka. My selection is 1.Kaka 2.Messi 3.Ronaldinho
  • Mancha,Malaysia
    In term of current performance Messi is the best in the world with his dribbling and passes skills and at the same time score goals but kaka will deserved the award if last season 2006/2007 take in account.But no doubt messi will get it for this 2007/2008 season in the absence struggling into from ronaldinho.I hope ronaldinho will be back soon.Actually i'm the big fan of ronaldinho,messi & kaka.But this time i go for Kaka cos he deserved it.He always in good form for his club and country.So 1.kaka 2.Messi 3.Ronaldinho
  • Bala, Malaysia
    1.Kaka 2.Messi 3.Ronaldinho
  • Ann Malaysia
    1.Kaka 2.Messi 3.Ronaldinho
  • nico
    1 messi, 2 kaka,3 Ronaldinho
  • Barcelona4evr
    barcelona has 7 players in it while real madrid only has 2 hahahahahahahaha

    Visca el Barca!!
  • JPWITT
    I think that Riquelme should win it because thanks to him Boca won the copa libertadores and went to the final of the copa america. did u guys see the 2 free kicks against chile!?
  • Saki
    Ronaldinho, Messi, Kaka...THE FINALISTS!
  • george
    buffon is in there because heb is the best goalkeeper in the world so the retard is u.
    pezzo di merda
  • MESSI,ronaldinho,kaka,C ronaldo and f.torres
  • lionel messi,ronaldinho, fernando torres and cehc fabregas
  • Kevin Pinel
    Player of the year should be:

    1. Robbie Savage
    2. Lee Trundle
    3. Jimmy Bullard
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