Toni Kroos can hope to win the Golden Ball after retiring from professional football. The former international player is on the nomination list for the Ballon d’Or, as are his former Real Madrid teammate Antonio Rüdiger, Florian Wirtz from double winner Bayer Leverkusen and the former Dortmund player Mats Hummels, whose move to AS Roma in Italy was also announced on Wednesday. In the women’s category, the German international players Lea Schüller, Giulia Gwinn and Sjoeke Nüsken made it onto the shortlist.
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They are all among the 30 nominees for the prestigious award. The prize for the best footballers in the world, awarded by the European umbrella organization UEFA and the French trade magazine “France Football”, will be presented on October 28 in Paris.
Last year’s winner Lionel Messi, who triumphed with Argentina at the Copa América this year and has already won the Golden Ball eight times, was not considered, nor was the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. This means that neither of the two superstars is eligible for election for the first time since 2003.
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Big competition for the Germans
Kroos won the Champions League with Real Madrid this year and made a celebrated DFB comeback after a break of almost three years with the national team. After the quarter-final exit at the home European Championship, the 34-year-old retired from professional football. Also nominated for the men’s team are Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich’s English striker Harry Kane and Nico Williams from European champions Spain.
In the women’s competition, Schüller and Gwinn from FC Bayern Munich and Nüsken from FC Chelsea will have to prevail against, among others, last year’s winner Aitana Bonmati from FC Barcelona.
Successful coach Xabi Alonso of double winner Bayer Leverkusen can have high hopes for the Coach of the Year award. He will be competing against Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola of English champions Manchester City and Spain’s European champion Luis de la Fuente, among others.
Bayern’s Tel and Dortmund’s Kobel also nominated
Mathys Tel (19) from FC Bayern Munich could be chosen as the best young player. However, the big favorite in this ranking is Spain’s 17-year-old European champion Lamine Yamal from FC Barcelona. In the goalkeeper vote, Gregor Kobel from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund is on the list with nine other goalkeepers.
Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Manchester City and FC Girona were shortlisted for the men’s football team of the year.
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The Ballon d’Or has been awarded annually since 1956 by the specialist magazine “France Football”, which belongs to the French media group Groupe Amaury. Since this year, UEFA has been co-organizing the prestigious award. The Ballon d’Or is not a replacement for the World Footballer of the Year award. This award continues to be organized by the world association FIFA. From 2010 to 2015, the World Footballer of the Year was awarded the Golden Ball through a cooperation between FIFA and “France Football”.
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