FIFA Ballon d'Or: Besides Messi, Wambach, Del Bosque and Sundhage win awards

The third edition of the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards was held at the Zurich Kongresshaus in Switzerland. And it was another big evening for Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi, who became the first player to win four successive Ballon d’Or awards.Meanwhile US women’s player Abby Wambach claimed her first FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala. Spain’s Vicente del Bosque and Sweden’s new women’s national team coach Pia Sundhage (former USA coach) were the winners of the FIFA World Coach of the Year awards in the men’s and women’s category.

Lionel Messi didn’t win any big silverware like UEFA Champions League or Spanish La Liga, but he did score 91 goals in the 2012 calendar year, while Spanish national coach Vicente del Bosque added the UEFA Euro2012 title to his 2010 FIFA World Cup crown.

In women’s football, 2012 was the US national team’s year. Sundhage and Wambach led the US to its fourth Olympic gold medal at London 2012 after defeating Japan in the final and thus exacting revenge for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, which Japan won for the first time in their history.

These awards were decided after a poll in which the captains and head coaches of the men’s (for the two men’s awards) and women’s (for the two women’s awards) national teams, as well as international media representatives selected by French football magazine France Football, voted for candidates in each of the four categories. Each group’s votes represented one third of the final result.

It was an unforgettable night, with many former and current football stars on stage and on the red carpet. The international audience was entertained with a flavour of Brazil as we look to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup as well as by Scottish singer Amy MacDonald.

The FIFA Ballon d’Or was awarded for the third time tonight following the amalgamation of the FIFA World Player of the Year award with the France Football Ballon d’Or in 2010.

Lionel Messi won the FIFA Ballon d’Or after polling 41.60% of the votes, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo on 23.68% and Andrés Iniesta on 10.91%.

Abby Wambach also won the adidas Golden Ball as the best player at the 2012 London Olympics and the adidas Golden Boot for her five goals. She collected 20.67% of the votes, ahead of Brazil’s Marta and Alex Morgan from the USA, who received 13.50% and 10.87% respectively.

Vicente del Bosque secured the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award with 34.51% of the votes, ahead of José Mourinho, the Portuguese coach of Real Madrid, with 20.49%, and former FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who received 12.91%.

Meanwhile, Pia Sundhage led the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football category with 28.59% of the votes, ahead of Norio Sasaki (23.83%), coach of the Japanese national team, and France team coach Bruno Bini (9.02%).