I agree---Cannavaro. In my mind it was between him and Klose entering that match and that decided it.
Cannavaro was brilliant and tireless against Germany.
Add John Terry to the mix, put Lippi at the helm with his 3-4-1-2 formation and these nominees make quite a impressive eleven.
By the way, my vote goes to Cannavaro, no goals against (by an opponent); Only 9 fouls and not even a yellow in 570 minutes in THIS tournament says it all. At the end of the day, the outcome of the final will go a long way towards deciding this award.
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on July 6th at 12:40 PM.
I would place the performance of Makelele above that of Ballack. Makelele, Viera, Thuram and Gallas are all equally as worthy as Zidane in this tournament, especially considering that Zidane missed a key game. I'm not too impressed by Henry after his embellishment against Spain.
I would vote for Cannavaro as well, barring something unforeseen in the final.
Cannavaro, hands down. He is the ebst defender I have ever seen. He works incredibly hard and he is fantastic at what he does. He is the foundation behind the famed Azzurri defense. He is, by far, the player of the entire tournament. Not to mention, this is his last WC. It's going to be terrible without him in 2010
I agree with you about Ballack's nomination. Also, I think Maniche has had a solid tournament, but I don't think he deserves to be on the list.
To me, there are so many big name players that are EXHAUSTED and haven't played well in this WC that FIFA is struggling to find players that deserve to be on the list.
I've been a little disappointed in the level of play at this WC. The players are worn out.
I think this selection should hinge on the final's outcome as cases could be made for both French and Italian players to win, while no player that isn't in the final has done enough to win it outright. Domenech or more likely Lippi should pick the winner and we pretty much know who they would pick!
Players that have impressed or surprised you the most so far?
Its true that we don't get to see enough Italian players in La liga or the EPL etc. on TV.
Although I'm a big GER fan, and would normally vote for Klose, I have to say I really am leaning towards Buffon. He really got them through the quarters and semis. If he hadn't stopped those shots from UKR they may not have remained so UP.
Definitely not Buffon -- the only goalkeeper that merits consideration (*and I can't believe 'm writing this) is Lehmann.
There's more than a whiff of political correctness and spreading the wealth in this list -- there can be no other reason for Ballack to be on it.
No question Pirlo and Zambrotta have been great, but no Italian has contributed more than Cannavaro. If justice is served, he will beat out Viera, who I would pick ahead of Zidane. Henry isn't close. It's possible that one of these three will outshine everyone on Sunday, and if so, it's likely to be Cannavaro.
Cannavero has been a class above in this event. Naming anyone else for the Golden Boot winner would be worthy of a red card. Other finalists on my list would include Buffon, Klose, Ribery, Zidane, Makalele, Viera, Ricardo, Gallas and Lehmann. Henry and Ballack don't make my team.
Bobby-
Agreed, Ballack was a politico move, he wasn't that good and dare I say Chelsea may have been snowed by BMunich.
How about that muppet from ManU, Rooney as the GB?
In the backstreets of Scouserville his foul on Ronaldo will get him knighted!
Although Ballack's inclusion might have been a PC move, to say that he hasn't had a very good tournament I think is wrong. I'd rather have him in my midfield than Frank "I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn" Lampard any day of the week. Ballack might not have scored this WC but he controlled the midfield for the German team when it counted. And he was ice-cold during PKs against Argentina despite being injured and tired.
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