My predictions: Definite: Wambach Morgan Sinclair Solo Marta Sawa Miyama Maybe: Necib Bompastor Thiney Abily Thomis Rapinoe Lloyd Schelin PS Who selects the short-list to be voted on later?
Thanks. I wish we could trust these numbers. I know Morgan did not have 5 and I am pretty sure Necib had at least 2 (maybe even 3 assists). I think at next major tournament I am going to keep track of these numbers game by game on my own and post them here. Statistical errors really bug me.
You don't have to wait. The game summary descriptions for each game name all the feeds leading to goals. For the USA, that site is http://www.fifa.com/womensolympic/teams/team=1882884/index.html (lower left. Match fixtures and results. Click on the score for each game, then read the summary descriptions.) For Morgan, the only goal she assisted on in the cup was on a feed in the box to Wambach against Korea. All other goals for the USA list other folks making the feeds. I'll let you do Necib. Or maybe I'll do it later if I am bored.
Actually, Necib was easy, as France scored fewer goals. She fed a through ball to Thomis for a finish against the keeper in their match against Korea. Against Sweden, she put a corner kick over Lindahl to Georges for a header goal. Other France goals are described as involving other people. Which leads to a problem. FIFA says that for it to be an assist, it has to be a feed that leads directly to a goal. If the scorer makes a move on a defender ( with the possible exception of the keeper - I'm fuzzy on that point) to avoid a tackle or challenge, there is no assist. What may look like an assist may not be so credited. So while it is possible that Necib got 2 assists, it is also possible that FIFA didn't credit her for both for that reason. And unlike some leagues, I think FIFA only credits a maximum of one assist per goal. Necibs feeds are described as the ones to the scorer. Without those restrictions, they would have had to credit Argentina with 25 assists on a goal a couple World cups ago.
Not sure if we can count on this info as well. Why wouldn't her cross to Lloyd against Japan count as an assist, or her pass to Wambach against New Zealand. they were both direct with no other players involved.
Actually, I just checked the game summaries and it does give Morgan credit for assisting in the New Zealand and Japan games.
And the shortlist has been announced: Women’s shortlists for the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala 2012 The following ten women (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the title of FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2012: Camille Abily (France), Miho Fukumoto (Japan), Carli Lloyd (USA), Marta (Brazil), Aya Miyama (Japan), Alex Morgan (USA), Megan Rapinoe (USA), Homare Sawa (Japan), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Abby Wambach (USA) http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/playeroftheyear/women.html
Thanks for the link. I didn't understand the part regarding the 3 person short list being revealed in late November. Will the voting be done at that time and the winner kept secret until January, or does everone get to vote again with only the 3 players in mind? Also, as a side note, Morgan is still credited with 5 assists in the tournament. Is this a mistake, or was there another goal FIFA gave her credit for that I missed?
As the criteria number 1 is "palmares de l'annee" you bet Morgan, Rapinoe, Wambach or Lloyd basically as they won the Olympics.
Eh, fair enough.... Though I must add that even though GER didn't get to play in the Olympics, I'm still shocked that not a single German player made the shortlist. Also, I wish they would move away from the "only ten players" shortlist for the women while the men get 20+. (I know the game is "smaller", but still.) I mean, the press release even mentions Tanc in Sinclair's bio, and we'd probably get some Germans and Boquette as well.
My gut tells me Wambach will win it. Based on past selections, I just don't see someone leapfrogging everyone else into the top position if they weren't even in the Top 10 last year. Wambach was 3rd last year behind Sawa and Marta, and both those ladies didn't put up big numbers at the Olympics this year.
This is why I don't like the criteria of the shortlist or how someone is voted WPOY. All there counting is 6 matches Olympics not club. Players on this list played club this season and last season and international matches Abily, Marta. Abily has to be on the 3 person shortlist.
But the problem is that a lot of people on the outside looking in do not take the French league that seriously, since Lyon blows away their opponents by 8 goals on average. My gut tells me that a WPSL team like Pali Blues would give Lyon a much bigger challenge than these teams. They did win the European league cup, but it was done as a team. Abily has 10 goals this year in 5 matches, where Lyon has outscored their opponents 40-0!
There is also the issue that the Swede Charllotta Schelin was the biggest scoring threat on Lyon's team, and that Bompastor was the team leader for the French players on that squad. I think you can be good in club for the women's side, but history shows you have to come away with at least SOME metal in the major tournament of the year, be it World Cup or Olympics.
While the Olympics garnered most of the attention, Abily's achievements mentioned by FIFA were strictly club-oriented: Deployed as a substitute for most of the Olympics, Camille Abily shone primarily at club level this year, with Lyon achieving a stunning triple of UEFA Women’s Champions League, French league and French Cup. The Lyon midfielder was voted the most outstanding player of the Champions League final against Frankfurt (2-0).
LOL Llyod and Rapinoe wow... by going on a few games witnessed at a highly contentious Olympics, FIFA has really found themselves scrapping the barrel for this years nomination list... I think Abily's all round level of performance makes her the best player in the world right now, but in a player of the YEAR vote filled with so many one trick ponies and no show's, how's Boquete going to be left of that list, but Marta put back in, lol.
Abily's ability won her NOTHING in a world competition this year. At least when Marta won during Olympic and World Cup years, her team came away with medals of some sort. And Sidney Leroux scored more than she did in the Olympics playing only cameo appearances. When it comes to the Ballon D'Or, you gotta win to play.
Seriously. If you want to champion someone not on the list, at least pick someone who score ONE goal in the biggest competition of the year...
Well if national pride leads to crazy periods of hysterical blindness, then it might make sense to compare a supremely talented mid-fielder like Abily, with a inherently limited striker like Leroux... But even without the complete lack of appreciation of positional requirements, any simplistic assessment of players ability in relation to form would suggest Abily has more to offer this years POTY vote than a host of names on that list. I mean, if we all went with the dumbed down winner=best player system, with a few more common sense ref calls, Japan and Canada's Olympic runs probably make this entire list a nonsense.
The goal total shouldn't be devalue(ie Messi-Barca, CR7-Real Madrid, RVP OR Rooney-Man U), she does get assist, she's versatile playing multiple positions. The french league is legit, there multiple teams that are good it's not just Lyon. There's PSG, Juvy, Montpellier and Lyon that are all top notch teams. Plus Abily played in CL against the all the best European teams(a ton of those club teams are better than our club teams whitecaps, Pali Blues, Redstars, LA Vikings). Lyon is the best women team in the world, the only team that comes close would be New York Flash from the last year of the WPS. Lyon thrashed the 2 best teams in Germany in Trubine Potsdam and Frankfurt. Scoring goals shouldn't be the deciding factor for one being on the list or winning a WPOY period. Abily can't dictate when she gets playing time in WC nor Olympics it's up to the coach(Bini).
this argument can be made for every player who sat on the bench. --silly important payers play. if they don't play, they aren't important.
That's completely wrong, Important players play, thus if they don't play they aren't important. Different sport same concept, last season Bill Belichick benched Wes Welker. It wasn't because Welker wasn't an important player, it was because Belichick to wanted to send a message not for football abilities. Abily was reduced to a subbing role for reasons other than her footballing abilities, as in Binii didn't want her playing.
Hold on, WPS was a while back now, but not far enough back for us to forget how ordinary so called current POTY nominees actually looked on clubs in direct competition with their international peers. All these so called weak leagues that former WPS stars now play in, are still producing quality teams, filled with loads of players that can stand up to anything else from around the globe. So to see half the list made up of names without a club is ridiculous, when the years only international competition didn't even have one of the best programs in the world taking part, because the sports strongest region doesn't have time for a serious qualification process, lol.