© EuroFootball.com
The best FIFA 2011 football player will be Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi or Lionel Messi. On Monday, it was officially announced that the list of candidates has been shortened to a trio representing Spanish clubs, and the decision will be made taking into account the votes of national team coaches, captains, and journalists.
The favorite is forward Lionel Messi, who could be recognized as unbeaten for the third consecutive year. The only one to achieve this so far was Michel Platini.
Alongside the Argentine is his teammate Xavi, who finished in third place in both 2009 and 2010.
The final candidate is Madrid's leader Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the "Golden Ball" in 2008. Last season in the Spanish championship, he scored 40 goals in 38 matches.
In addition, the contenders for the most beautiful goal award have been announced - Messi's strike against "Arsenal", Wayne Rooney's winning goal in a match against "Man City", and Santos' talent Neymar's shot that left no chance for "Flamengo's" goalkeeper.
The best coach of the season could be Pep Guardiola from the "Barcelona" team, Jose Mourinho leading "Real", and Sir Alex Ferguson at the wheel of "Man Utd".
Three most beautiful goals of the season:
Messi:
Neymar:
Rooney:
