4 Germans made the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball nominees!

FIFA officially announced the names of the 10 players of the 2014 World Cup in the running for the adidas Golden Ball, which is awarded to the competition’s most outstanding performer. Only 2 teams that  have more than 1 nominee meet tomorrow for the Final (4 nominees for Germany & 3 for Argentina). May be the score line would be 4-3 and Germany wins!

The shortlist was drawn up by the members of FIFA’s Technical Study Group. Appearing in alphabetical order are as follows...

Angel Di Maria (Argentina)
In providing Lionel Messi with the best possible support, Di Maria has led the Albiceleste attack with distinction, posing a constant menace to opposing defences with his long-range shooting, mazy dribbling and finishing skills.

Mats Hummels (Germany)
The Borussia Dortmund centre-half has attracted much praise for his solid displays at the heart of the German defence. As if that were not enough, Hummels has also impressed at the other end of the pitch, rising high to score against Portugal in the group phase and head home the winner against France in the quarter-finals.

Toni Kroos (Germany)
Kroos ran the show as Die Mannschaft swept aside hosts Brazil 7-1 in the semi-finals, dominating the midfield and posing a constant threat with his passing and shooting, which brought him two goals – all in a day’s work for this most consistent of performers.

Philipp Lahm (Germany)
The Germany captain began the tournament in midfield before seamlessly making the switch to the right-back slot, without it undermining his performance levels or his considerable influence on Joachim Low’s side.

Javier Mascherano (Argentina)
Though their much-vaunted attack attracts most of the headlines, Argentina have also been solid in defence, a large part of the credit for which must go to Mascherano for his tireless work in providing the Albiceleste rearguard with essential protection.

Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Messi had never scored at the world finals prior to Brazil 2014, a record he emphatically set straight with some lethal finishing in each of Argentina’s three group matches.

Thomas Muller (Germany)
In opening his campaign with a hat-trick against Portugal, Muller picked up where he left off at South Africa 2010, where he collected the adidas Golden Boot. His performances since have underlined his status as the spearhead of Germany’s deadly front line.

Neymar (Brazil)
Though only 22, the livewire forward ably shouldered the huge responsibility of leading A Seleção. Neymar was his side’s stand-out performer with four goals before an unfortunate injury ended his tournament in the quarter-finals.

Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
The flying Dutch wide man has been in peerless form since putting defending champions Spain to the sword in his side’s opening match. His incisive runs from deep have been a feature of the tournament. 

James Rodriguez (Colombia)
Recognised as a huge talent heading into the competition, the gifted Rodriguez has since proved his ability to rise to the big occasion. His haul of six goals in five outings was a major reason why Los Cafeteros broke new ground in reaching the last eight for the first time.

The winners of the adidas Golden Ball, Silver Ball and Bronze Ball will all be announced after tomorrow’s Final. 

The FIFA Technical Study Group
Headed by Jean-Paul Brigger, the FIFA Technical Study Group assesses the football played in each of the 64 matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil . Its members are Gerard Houllier (France), Raul Arias (Mexico), Gabriel Calderon (Argentina), Ricki Herbert (New Zealand), Abdel M. Hussein (Sudan), Ka Ming Kwok (Hong Kong), Ioan Lupescu (Romania), Gines Melendez Sotos (Spain), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Japan), Sunday Oliseh (Nigeria), Mixu Paatelainen (Finland), Jaime Rodriguez (El Salvador) and Theodore Whitmore (Jamaica).

Previous Golden Ball winners

1930 Jose Nasazzi (Uruguay)

1934 Giuseppe Meazza (Italy)

1938 Leonidas (Brazil)

1950 Zizinho (Brazil)

1954 Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)

1958 Didi (Brazil)

1962 Garrincha (Brazil)

1966 Bobby Charlton (England)

1970 Pele (Brazil)

1974 Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)

1978 Mario Kempes (Argentina)

1982 Paolo Rossi (Italy)

1986 Diego Maradona (Argentina)

1990 Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)

1994 Romario (Brazil)

1998 Ronaldo (Brazil)

2002 Oliver Kahn (Germany)

2006 Zinedine Zidane (France)

2010 Diego Forlan (Uruguay)