Andres Iniesta named as UEFA Best Player in Europe!

Spain and FC Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was today chosen and then handed the 2011/12 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Iniesta won the award ahead of club team mate Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from CF Real Madrid.

The FC Barcelona midfielder, who helped Spain defend their 2012 UEFA European Championship title this summer in Poland and Ukraine, deservingly got the award for his great performances across the season for club and country. What makes it special is that Andres Iniesta finally won an award ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who normally stand ahead of him in rankings and votings.

In a live poll of sports journalists representing each of UEFA's 53 member national associations, Andres Iniesta received 19 votes while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both received 17 votes.

It is interesting to note that no player from 2011/12 UEFA Champions League champions Chelsea FC and beaten finalist FC Bayern Munich made it into the top three with former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba coming seventh and his club mate Petr Cech as joint eighth within the top 10.

Positions four to ten were finalised after each journalist provided a list of their top five players, with the first receiving five points, the second four points and so on:

4. Andrea Pirlo (Juventus, ITALY) (90 points)
5. Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona, SPAIN) (57 pts)
6. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF, SPAIN) (53 pts)
7. Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC; IVORY COAST) (31 pts)
8. Petr Cech (Chelsea FC, CZECH REPUBLIC) // Falcao (Club Atlético de Madrid, COLOMBIA) (14 pts)
10. Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF, GERMANY) (10 pts)

Draws out for UEFA Champions League 2012/13 Group Stage

The draw for the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage was carried out today at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco. And all the 32 participating clubs aim to reach the final to be played on May 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London.

The strongest of all groups is Group D containing four national champions - Real Madrid CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Defending champions FC Chelsea have been drawn in a weaker Group E then along with Italian champions Juventus they should move into the knockout stage past Ukrainians FC Shakhtar Donetsk and newcomers FC Nordjaelland from Denmark.

Last season finalists FC Bayern München after having had the Group of Death last term, this time around got an easier Group F in which they face Valencia CF (Spain), LOSC Lille Métropole (France) and FC BATE Borisov (Belarus).


The Groups

Group A: FC Porto (Portugal), Dinamo Kyiv (Ukraine), FC Paris Saint-Germain (France), GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Group B: Arsenal FC (England), FC Schalke 04 (Germany), Olympiacos Piräus FC (Greece), HSC Montpellier (France)

Group C: AC Milan (Italy), FC Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), RSC Anderlecht (Belgium), FC Malaga (Spain)

Group D: Real Madrid CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Group E: Chelsea FC (England), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Juventus Torino (Italy), FC Nordjaelland (Denmark)

Group F: FC Bayern München (Germany), Valencia CF (Spain), LOSC Lille Métropole (France), FC BATE Borisov (Belarus)

Group G: FC Barcelona (Spain), SL Benfica (Portugal), Spartak Moskva (Russia), Celtic Glasgow (Scotland)

Group H: Manchester United FC (England), Sporting Braga (Portugal), Galatasaray Istanbul (Turkey), CFR Cluj (Romania)

Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo nominated for UEFA Europe award

European football governing body UEFA has named the three finalists for the 2012 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. The trio of Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who all play in Spain, have made it to the final list and the winner would be announced on August 30 in Monaco.

Defending champion Lionel Messi, who won last years inaugural award, had an exceptional campaign scoring an incredible 50 goals, 14 of those coming in the UEFA Champions League which is a new record. Cristiano Ronaldo also scored an impressive 46 goals which won Real Madrid their first Spanish La Liga title in years, but the UEFA Champions League remains elusive to the record champions for over a decade now. Barca midfielder Andrés Iniesta is the third amongst the finalists, a team mate of Messi and a key player for Spain in their Euro2012 winning campaign.

It is interesting to note that no player from UEFA Champions League champions Chelsea FC and beaten finalist FC Bayern Munich made it into the top three with Chelsea striker Didier Drogba coming seventh and his club mate Petr Cech as joint eighth within the top 10.

The top three will now go into a deciding vote in Monaco during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw on 30 August. In Monaco the journalists will vote live, via an electronic system, for their best player from the shortlist of the final three.

Positions four to ten are already finalised after each journalist provided a list of their top five players, with the first receiving five points, the second four points and so on:

4. Andrea Pirlo (Juventus, ITALY) (90 points)
5. Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona, SPAIN) (57 pts)
6. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF, SPAIN) (53 pts)
7. Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC; IVORY COAST) (31 pts)
8. Petr Cech (Chelsea FC, CZECH REPUBLIC) // Falcao (Club Atlético de Madrid, COLOMBIA) (14 pts)
10. Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF, GERMANY) (10 pts)

UEFA Super Cup: Barca win against Porto

UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona started the European season the way they ended the last with a title as they beat UEFA Europa League champions FC Porto 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco last night.



Barcelona is currently the club side to beat in Europe with their shot passing game the best football currently has to offer. And it was on display in Monaco as the Portuguese side had no real answer to tiki-taka football.



But Porto did make some initial inroads with Hulk and Joao Moutinho getting early chances for Porto. Once Barca settled down it was often one way traffic with Barca having 70% of the ball at the end of the first session with Andres Iniesta once more outstanding in midfield supplying the ball to Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez.



It was none other then Lionel Messi, yesterday named UEFA Player of the Year, who gave Barca a 39th minute first half lead as he intercepted a suicidal back-pass from Fredy Guarin; while new Barca signing Cesc Fabregas made it 2-0 in the 88th minute after the former Arsenal captain had to warm the bench for most of the match.



To make matters worse for FC Porto they ended the match with nine men, a game that started promisingly for them but ended as many would make expected against the Catalans. First Rolando got his second booking in the 86th minute, while Fredy Guarin got a straight red for a harsh foul on Javier Mascherano.