Lionel Messi recently shared his voting plans for the Ballon D’Or Award, given to soccer’s top performer. Surprise, surprise: he will not be voting for his bestie Ronaldo.
In one of the weirdest award rules ever, Messi actually gets to vote along with fellow international captains for an honor that could ultimately go to him.
“Last year, I voted for Xavi, Iniesta and Aguero, in that order,” he said. “I reckon this year it will be the same … Xavi and Iniesta will be there for sure and I am thinking between [Gonzalo] Higuain, [Angel] Di Maria or Aguero.”
Messi then went on to name 150 players, including two U12 strikers, whom he would consider voting for.
Ronaldo never came up.
[ESPN]
I’ll start with the important stuff. Andres Iniesta wins the very well-deserved player of the year award from UEFA today. Iniesta also won the player of the tournament award during EURO 12, which was the difference-maker in the end. Iniesta got 19 votes while Ronaldo and Messi got 17 each. The decision is made by 53 journalists representing each nation in UEFA.
Everyone expected Ronaldo to win this one so it comes as sort of a surprise, especially to Ronaldo apparently. This wasn’t the best time for Ronaldo to try out his McKayla Maroney impression. Then again, Ronaldo is never impressed with anyone but himself. This all happened the day after Real Madrid beat Barca in the Supercopa and Ronaldo didn’t feel like shaking hands with Messi. Lesson here is that Cristiano Ronaldo is both a sore loser and sore winner. See the video of the awkward non-handshake after the jump.
Great ad from Nike and Andres Iniesta. With his new CTR360 Maestri IIIs, he’s quite the puppet master on the pitch.
But who’s pulling the strings here? Andres? The CTR360s? Or … (after the jump)
If there was one thing we learned from our 91st Minute trip to Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon it was this:
Everything Nike does has a purpose. And I mean everything. They may tell you to Just Do it but nothing at Nike is ever just done – it’s analyzed, then studied, then tested, then broken down, then built up … then revealed.
Take the new Nike CTR360s, which haven’t yet been released for retail but were thoroughly unveiled to us (be jealous).
As you may recall, the CTR series is all about control and geared toward the play-makers. Nike’s choice to design a new iteration of these comes as the game is currently being dominated by possession style (something they’re acutely aware of).
These boots have been made for the midfield maestro: the Andres Iniesta (who had major input into the boot), the Jack Wilshere or Ganso.
The CTR360s are equipped with a 3D control pad that uses separate strips with fins of varying sizes to hug the arch and maximize contact with the ball, optimizing receiving and passing accuracy.
These have been tested in wet conditions and just about every other condition on planet Earth to ensure they’re adaptable.
You may notice that Nike boots tend to come in striking colors – that has to do with a level of science that I neither completely understand or can explain.
But just know this: the colors are chosen based on how they contrast with the pitch and ‘flicker’ in a player’s peripheral vision. It’s that extra bit of visibility that can make all the difference.
Oh yeah, plus Neymar has always wanted a yellow boot.
Sometimes the purpose is as simple as that.
More CTR360 pics after the jump.
You know who probably doesn’t think Spain is the greatest team of all-time? Yup, Neymar.
As this Nike Football ad shows, the Brazilian star was too busy sitting alone in the dark and sending out competitive lonely texts to Andres Iniesta to get caught up in the fandom.
Oh yes, 2014 should be fun. Hopefully Neymar will be ready to go outdoors by then.
To be continued …
With Euro 2012 kicking off Friday, ESPN has been counting down their top 40 players of the tourney.
Today it was announced that Ronaldo came out on top (duh) which left a top five of:
1. Ronaldo
2. Andres Iniesta
3. Xavi
4. Robin van Persie
5. Mesut Ozil
My only issue: I would’ve moved Van Persie up a spot – his season has just been too good. Plus, he gave me endless entertainment with this.
But I guess that’s why it’s ESPN’s list. If I don’t like it, I should do my own. Hmm …
|
|
|
|
|
|
