it's about time they give it to a keeper,Buffon deserves it, he carried Italy on his back during the world cup and can realy make a difference in a game.

i think zidane deserves it, despite his actions at the world cup.

No question Zidane is great,but the award should go to the most valuable player and Buffon won the world cup(and he was a big part of it),Juventus (on the field)won the serie A and they were in the 1/4 finals of the champions league,overall he was the one player that did make a difference,not taking anything away from Zidane or anyonelse,but why overlook the goalie thet carries his team on his shoulders.

It wasnt just Buffon. Cannavaro had a lot to do with their succes also. juve and Italy. o not to mention the bribes and cheating.

Give it to Henry dammit he deserves it

victor, i think you're right.. Herny is the best player in the world right now. I would like to see kaka in the running as well.

Yes henry is probably the best player right now, but Buffon was a one-man show and in his position the best there is,and he won the cup and the championship unlike Kakaand Henry.

I'm still not sure who I think it should be but i think it should be or cannavaro, buffon, kaka, lampard or shevchenko,, henry is great and all, but i think these players have shown more this last season than he did (even if shevchenko did get injured)

it should be between Buffon or Cannavaro,they won everything and were a big part of it,enough with the flamboyant forwards.

Haha yea! haha! they should give it to old head butt himself zidane! haha!

cannavaro, buffon or pirlo * * * *

Haha they should pick that ss storm trooper from germany michael balleck! haha!yea! haha!

1. Buffon 2. Cannavaro 3. Henry 4.Cristiano Ronaldo 5.Ribery.In my opinion the top 5.

I don't agree with any of you at all. I think that kid from Argentina Messi should get it. I've seen him play up close & to me he's better than anybody out there & he's very strong for a small guy as well as the fact he has great skills.

I agree with Greggor. All these other players in particular the ones' from Italy just don't measure up at all.

I agree, Rooney should get the award....for the most dumba$$ play, that crushes the hopes of a country that is trying to reclaim a breif moment of glory they experienced 40 years ago--once. Yup he should definitely get that award. And maybe one for the guy who looks most like my yorkshire terrier.

to greggor: Messi will be a great player,the next maradona,but he's not the MVP yet, once again (this is for stan)there was one player that made a difference and basically won the cup and scudetto by himself,and it's Buffon,who everyone would love to have on their side.he was the difference.

I certainly can't argue with Buffon as player of the year. You can say what you want about winning Serie A in the midst of scandal, and I'll probably agree with you, other than the fact that Buffon did everything on the field. Then he went on to put his country on his back and win the World Cup, which Italy could never have done without him. A similar argument can be made for Cannavaro, though I would put him below Buffon on my list.

Let's ignore Ronaldinho for a minute for the sake of argument, not because he doesn't deserve it, but just to consider the rest of the field since he's already won it 2 years running(and can still make a case for a 3rd). Henry has to be up there. Headbutt aside, Zidane also has a compelling argument, and it is difficult to ignore Klose with his contributions for Bremen and his World Cup production. Gerrard would be top of my list for club, but dropped a couple notches for coutry in the World Cup.

Messi WILL be a great player, but is not there yet. You just can't make an argument that he is player of the year, because his contributions didn't get the results or equal those of the other players we are talking about here. Ronaldo, same story for me, though he has more claim to the title than Messi at this point. As much as I love Ribery, he's also in this category of future contenders, as is Rooney(who could get there very quickly).

Maybe:
1. Henry
2. Buffon
3. Klose
4. Zidane
5. Cannavaro

With honorable mentions to Gerrard, Eto'o, Drogba, and of course Ronaldinho.

It should be a 2 way tie between World Champion Goalie Gianluigi Buffon and World Champion Defenceman Fabio Canavarro.

I would hate to be the one who makes the final decision - at least 6 players are deserving. Whoever is chosen there will be a controversy.

I think even dispite his young age Messi should get this award. As for the Italian players no way. With all the scandals going on in Italian soccer with matches being fixxed people should keep in mind that if a match is fixxed then that means it's not only the team owners & refs' that are in on it. Everybody knows meaning the players as well. Italy has always had good players but they all seem to have a dishonest nature about them. As a national team they are boring to watch & never come out to win but play to hang on for a shoot out in the end. Yes they won this past world cup but keep in mind they had to have a player take a dive in the 94th minute of injury time to beat tiny Austraila. That's a fact! Give it to Messi, Ballack, or Klose but not an Italian.

rooney's gonna win it or zidane

I think is the right time for Henry to get the award. He has been a deadly striker all the time in Premiership and to France. he is great,he is briliant, he is fabulous he is sensetional, he hugelly deserve it.
the top 3 should be
1. T.Henry
2. S.Etoo
3. F.Cannavaro
ANASTAHILI KUPEWA JAMANI

first of all, is it just me or is messi not even on the list? why does his name keep coming up when he wasn't nominated?

as for the player of the year, its close but it has to go to buffon. not because it is high time for a keeper to win. not (only) because he won the scudetto and world cup. but because he is hands down the best in his business. this past year was an amazing year for buffon and he overshadowed all other keepers, including cech and lehmann (who was there in the champions league final and world cup semifinal).

as for the field players, no one is hands down the best player for their position. henry is great, but you can not say that he hands down had a better year than the likes of eto'o, klose, and ronaldinho.

for midfielders, there is no one player that stands above the rest, with the possible exception of zidane.

as for defenders, cannavaro does stand out and did have a great year as well. but between buffon and cannavaro, i would choose buffon. but it would be close. henry and zidane would follow, with lehmann rounding out the top five.

My guess is is won't be an Italian player which would be a very good thing. I'm going to laugh very hard if it turns out to be Zidane. As it stands Zidane is loved & respected much more than any Italian player will ever be & I think this is what gets Italians so angry. I also think what Zidane did in the final was the right thing to do as that dirty Italian player deserved it.

Let's hope it's not an Italian. Zidane's only mistake was he went to light on that player he put the headbutt on. I mean he should have figured by doing that he's going to be sent off so why not make it worth while & just really set out to mame that guy!As it stands that Italian player hurts players all the time in league play so he just was given a little taste of what he's been inflicting on other players for a long time. If your going to hit somebody chances are your going to have trouble for it so why not hurt them in the process? All in all my vote with this player of the year award goes for Zidane or Messi or Balleck.

i think top five
1.henry
2.buffon
3.Cannavaro
4.Cristiano Ronaldo
5.Franck Ribery
i would love to see Totti on here

Why does it matter what nationality a person is? Isn't this award about who has been the best player on the pitch? Please stop with the baiting and talk about the merits of the player if you're going to participate.

Meng, you're right Messi isn't on this list, nor should he be...at least for this year. Next year could be a different story all together. Heath's right, Messi will have many years where he's in the running for this award.

They usually give this award out to consistent game changers, players who can impose their will on a match. In the past year, I think that Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho (at times) did that in club competition, but not as well at the World Cup. Klose, Cannavaro, Zidane and Buffon did so in the world cup.

My guess is Ronaldinho doesn't win this year and Henry gets it, though I don't think you could argue with Buffon, Cannavaro, or Klose who all had great years.

I really say that Ballack deserves it. Although I wouldn't mind it to go to anyone else except anyone from brazil or barcelona. I say that because they get all the attention when they haevnt been all that great lately. I mean come on today Barcelona lost to Chelsea and Brazil didnt make it so far in the world cup. So, dont give it to anyone brazillian or anyone at barcelona...escpecially Ronaldihno

I just want everyone to know, that as of today--Italy is ranked #2 in the world.

Giova, or is it Forza, or is it Tony P, or is it Ace or Joker? Who knows ... Nobody here cares about what Ranking Italy has as you said yourself in the many rants you posted here ranking does not matter. The best professinal soccer is being played in England & Spain right now as that's where all the best players play ..(Not many Italians in either league)All the lower quality players play in other leagues.

Just in from Objectivo.com

Italy's keeper Buffon has been questioned yet ...AGAIN! For the bet & brive scandal.

Well Buffon blew it bigtime I think. I doubt FIFA would choose a guy that's under investigation for beiing a crook.

It seems all the English teams playing in the Champions League are doing rather well. It's ironic how everything travels in cycles. Twenty years ago the English League was just a mess very poor quality & Italy's League was on the cutting edge with all the best players. Now it's the other way around. Such is the ways of life.

Very true Clockwork. Serie A used to be THE league to play in for top quality. These days however, there is no doubt it takes a back seat to the EPL. There are still tons of quality players in Italy for sure, but the best football is being played elsewhere at the moment.

That said, it's unfortunate if Buffon had a role in the scandal, because he truly has earned his consideration for player of the year honors by his performances, but does not deserve it if involved in any impropriety.

As big a fan as I am of Ballack, I think many players have outshone him this year. If it went to a German player, I think it has to be Klose. He helped his club to a great league finish and they are top of the table again currently, helped his country to a 3rd place finish at the World Cup, and earned the golden boot along the way.

Henry is still my best guess, though. He's been brilliant for Arsenal. Not quite as convincing in the Worlk Cup where I think he was outshone by both Zidane and Vieira, but still produced some decisive moments of quality that helped France to the final.

Hello Heath & Clockwork ....

I have to say I agree with both of you as you have valid points. Right now it seems the higest level of professional club soccer is being played in England. What's odd is you would never know it watching England's national team play. They of course have great players in that squad but neverless just can't seem to gel well as a team. I think back when Maradona & Van Basten were playing in Italy. In that era that was the golden age for Italian club soccer. Now it just happens to be the golden age in England. The pace of the game is much faster in England as well as the man to man marking is much more difficult. Case in point ...Sheva. Now Sheva is as far as I'm concerned a fine player as he did so well in Italy but look what's happening to him now. He's being marked much tighter now & not given much space & it's really put him in a rut. Maybe after he's played a full season there he will improve to his old form. It seems like it's been ages since so many English club teams have been doing well in the Champions League. We will have to wait & see if these teams can keep it going!As for this best player award there are so many players to choose from. I'm going to throw a few names into the fray here that might raise a few eye brows.Drogba, Kaka,Riquelme,& Nesta.I like Nesta as he's a smart hard working defender & unlike a lot of defenders out there he uses skill over blind brute force to win encounters.You might ask why I also included Riquelme? Well he reminds me very much of a latin version of The Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer as he makes the very difficult look effortless & easy. I played at the professional level at one time years ago & I still have a team I'm a player coach of of all former professional players & we sat & debated this topic as everyone is from different countries & had their choices. I also chose Drogba as I have to pull for a forward as well because that's my position. I like Drogba because he plays well against anybody & he knows how to put the ball away & he's doing it not just in the English league but also the Champions league as well.All I really hope though is that FIFA is fair & picks a player that deserves it.

By the way Heath ...

The team I have is a Futsal team it's actually lots of fun.It's 5 on 5 with unlimited subs & it's played at a pretty fast pace. The ball is a size #4 & is heavier than a normal size #5 with less bounce so it kind of sticks to your feet. At the moment we are doing not bad at all we have 12 wins with no defeats with 51 goals scored & only 3 against. I have a good mixture of players with half of us coming from Europe & the other half coming from Latin America. The best part with this Futsal League is there are no fights which is a good thing as I'm too old for that stuff!There is a giant sports complex out here with about 8 Futsal fields & 160 teams playing in the region so you play a different team every week. I have to admit it was very different to play Futsal after being used to playing outdoor for so many years as I was more suited for the English & Dutch styles of playing but like the old saying goes.... there is always something new to learn.

Rasputin, you're absolutely right about Riquelme. He's flys under the hype level that Rooney, Ronaldo, Henry, etc operate on, but he had a very, very strong year. He guided Villarreal to semis in the Champions League (beating Everton, Manchester United, Rangers and Inter Milan in process). I doubt that anyone would had predicted they would advance that far, and Riquelme was the difference maker. He controls the game well in the midfield and distributes the ball well. Riquelme also played well in Germany for Argentina as well. He led the competition in assists with 4 in 5 games. He deserves a shot at this award, though I doubt he'll get it.

Btw, that futsal league sounds great. Good luck!

Hi Rasputin,

I agree whole heartedly with you comments on the state of the game in England, and also with your observation on their apparent inability to transfer that same elite level to the national program.

As you mention, they certainly have talent all over the field. Here's one of my thoughts on the disconnect. I think there is a profile of the English player that can be applied to a surprising percentage of their national side. The solid technical player, precision passing, decent but not exceptional athleticism, good on set pieces, good in the air, staunch defending, etc. Look around the pitch during an England match: Lampard, Gerrard, Carrick, Carragher, Paker, Neville, etc. So many of them tend to fit that mold. There are exceptions as with anything and I think some of the younger players now breaking in will change this a bit, but it fits to make a general statement. Many of the players in the EPL that tend to the more individual bits of brilliance are not English: Henry, Drogba (totally different style from an Henry-type, but way out of the England mold), Ronaldo, Essien, Robben, etc.

One would think the mold of the English player would actually lend itself to playing excellent team football, yet ironically this has not happened and they have failed to gel as you point out. This being the case, perhaps this characteristic stereotype of their players makes them easier to match up against and defend, because opponents know what to expect. It's easier to develop a game plan to neutralize a team that simply plays solid posession football all game and waits for the result than it is to account for the unpredictable goal scored by an individually brilliant player (whether that is through superior pace, creativity, etc.). Just one of my thoughts on the subject.

As for your other suggestions of Drogba, Kaka, Riquelme and Nesta... I love Drogba. His strength on the ball in unbelievable, his finishing improves weekly, and he is a game changing player. I think he has an outside chance, but more likely we'll see him seriously in the running in another year or two. Ironically, I don't think the World Cup helped Drogba's cause as much as it could have. Missing a game due to cards, and not quite having that break out on the world stage (despite some moments of sheer talent and determination). Same with Nesta. As you say, a very intelligent and skillful player, but his injuries kept him from making a splash in Germany, which will hurt him in the voting considering the company he is in. You definitely have a point with Riquelme. Amazingly technical, smart, achievements with his club, a great individual showing in Germany... I doubt he'll get the nod, but I agree with you that he deserves the consideration.

Enjoy the futsal, it's a fun game, though I haven't played it much in the past couple of year. I've been sticking to my competitive outdoor league (mostly current and former college players with the occasional former pro/semi pro) on the weekends and indoor leagues a couple of nights during the week for fun. Big weekend coming up with a league game and the semi-finals of our cup competition.

That was me by the way...name didn't come through.

This is a two horse race(if one was to be fair) cannavaro and buffon. Hands down. Zidane should be on this list, but thats it. I watched the world cup. Zidane was MESMERISING in the quarter final. In the semi's and finals he was meh. It truly is a sad day for sport when arguably, the most prestigious award in sport is awarded to a player just because he is retiring. Buffon is already one of the great goalies of all time. He has exceeded Oliver Kahn who won the golden ball 02.

Cannavaro truly is a maestro. He snuffed out
the likes of andriy shevchenko, michael essien, klose and henry. Do be real, this year the yardstick is the world cup.
Best defender: cannavaro
best midfielder:pirlo/essien/riquelme-tremendous vision.
best attacker: Klose, ANYONE but ronaldinho, i hate that pretty boy, he was dissapointing in the WC, where it really matters.
Henry is always good, but the diving in the world cup is....>.<

i think zidane should get it his the best da world has ever seen. my top 5 zidane . rooney . c.ronaldo . kaka . john terry.

Giving it to Henry doesn't matter, but we are presently looking at Buffon cause he deserves it.

If rooney had not been red carded at the world cup game, there would be no complaints with giving him player of the year for the unbelieveable and unimaginable things that he did, and i consider him to be the 2nd or 3rd best player in the world. However Zidane wont get it cause his headbutt on materazzi and ronaldinho has had a dropped off year, and buffon like u said is a goalie, and to say that he is the reason italy won is hogwash. I think the main contenders are Henry Eto Kaka

When a team has only 2 goals against through 7 World Cup games, I don't think it is hogwash to credit their keeper. Maybe not the only reason they won, but Italy certainly could not have done it without Buffon and Cannavarro. Both are deserving of being in the top 5.

I think it will probably go to Henry though.

it will be like this
1st kaka
2nd gerrard
3rd buffon
4th cannavarro

give it to henry he never got one and is the best striker in the world .give it to him he deserves

I think thierry Henry should be the best player of the year because he was the highest goal soccerer in premeship, best player and in a ddition to that, he played the chapionslegau final and also world cup final

ronaldinho should no doubt win the player of the year

I think that they should give it to E'to because he deserves something for his hard work.Not to mention he's a really good player.
I love to see him play.If E'to doesn't get it it deserves to go to Drogba he's a great player.!!!!!

I want any african player to get the Golden ball They are all great players & they deserves it.!!!!!

christiano ronaldo is by far the best player in the world right now and has matured tremendously showing real commitment by working on the weaker parts of his game i.e. finishing, passing etc