Ronaldo wins, but so do Löw and Kessler
January 12, 2015
Cristiano Ronaldo won his third FIFA Ballon d'Or award on Monday night, claiming the 2014 title ahead of Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Argentina's Lionel Messi.
Neuer finished in third behind four-time winner Lionel Messi in a vote of national team captains and coaches from FIFA's 209 member countries, plus selected journalists.
"I would like to thank all of those who voted for me," said the 29-year-old Ronaldo as he accepted the trophy. "It has been an incredible year. I would like to continue the work that I have done so far. I want to try to improve, to become better as each day goes by."
"I never thought that I would bring this trophy back home on three occasions and I want to win it again. I want to become one of the greatest players of all time," he said, before uttering the word "Sim" (yes) into the microphone.
Ronaldo retained football's highest individual honor after scoring 61 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal last year. His record tally of 17 in a Champions League season helped his club win an unprecedented 10th European Cup title.
Germany were not without celebration on the night though. In the women's award, Germany and Wolfsburg midfielder Nadine Kessler beat Marta of Brazil and United States forward Abby Wambach to be crowned the world's best female footballer. Earlier in the evening her Wolfsburg coach, Ralf Kellermann was named the best coach in women's football. Kellermann led a Wolfsburg team - including Kessler - to back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles. Both Kessler and Kellermann started their speeches with condolences to Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda, who died in a car crash on Saturday.
Germany coach Joachim Löw won the best coach of the year award, ahead of Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti and Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone.
"It's the icing on the cake," said Löw in his acceptance speech. "What would a coach be without a fantastic team? I am nothing without well-trained players."
James Rodriguez's goal for Colombia against Uruguay at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil won the Puskas award for FIFA Goal of the Year.
The FIFA Team of the Year was as follows: Manuel Neuer (Germany, Bayern Munich) - Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (Brazil, PSG), David Luiz (Brazil, PSG), Philipp Lahm (Germany, Bayern Munich) - Andres Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid), Angel Di Maria (Argentina, Manchester United) - Arjen Robben (Netherlands, Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
jh/msh (AFP, AP, dpa)