Ballon d'or: The final 3

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and
Manuel Neuer have made the three-man
shortlist for the 2014 Fifa Ballon d'Or.
The Real Madrid attacker, 29, could win
the prestigious individual award for a
third time after lifting the trophy in 2008
and 2013.
Ronaldo played a key role in Madrid's
successful Champions League campaign
last season, scoring 17 goals to set a new
record for most goals scored in the
competition in one season.
Barcelona star Messi, meanwhile, is in
contention to scoop the accolade for a
record fifth time, and has hit top form in
recent weeks to add weight to his case.
The 27-year-old attacker did not win any
major trophies with Barcelona in 2014,
but enjoyed a successful season on a
personal level as he became both La Liga
and Champions League all-time top
scorer in November.
Neuer, finally, makes the three-man
shortlist for the first time in his career and
could become the first goalkeeper since
Lev Yashin in 1963 to be voted the
world's best footballer.
The 28-year-old won the Bundesliga title
and DFB Pokal with Bayern Munich,
before crowning a superb year by winning
the World Cup with Germany.
Other favourites such as Thomas Muller,
Toni Kroos, Arjen Robben and Philipp
Lahm miss out on a podium spot.
Fifa and France Football will announce the
winner on January 12 at the Fifa Ballon
d'Or Gala.

Crazy fan throws bottle at Messi after late win against Valencia

Lionel Messi was struck on the head by a bottle as the players celebrated Sergio Busquets' stoppage-time winning goal against valencia on Sunday night.

The Argentine star had played a part in creating the goal after his cross had found Neymar, whose header was saved before Busquets lashed home the rebound to seal a 1-0 win in the 94th minute.

Barca players enthusiastically reacted to the match-winning strike and soon jumped on the goalscorer near the corner flag after he had slid to the ground in celebration, at which point Messi was hit by the object thrown from a section of the home support.

As the away players began heading back to the centre circle following the goal, Messi was still down on the ground clutching and rubbing his head. He was helped up to his feet by Rafinha, at which point he picked up the bottle with which he had been struck and threw it off the pitch.

The 27-year-old then rushed to the referee and protested while holding his head, only to be shown a yellow card with the official believing he was trying to waste time.

The final whistle blew just seconds after the re-start and Messi hugged a few of his team-mates despite being visibly irritated by the incident. He then stopped to receive treatment from the onrushing physio, with a cut already evident on his forehead.

The attacker continued to rub his head and returned to the referee in a second attempt to explain what had taken place before he left the field of play holding a tissue to the spot of his injury, giving the home support an ironic thumbs-up signal as he entered the tunnel.

Valencia released an official statement after the match pledging to ban the perpetrator from the Mestalla for life if they are tracked down. 

"Valencia CF regret and condemn the isolated incident in the game against FC Barcelona, in which a small, uncapped bottle of water was thrown from the stands at opposition player Lionel Messi," read the statement.

"The club will endeavour to locate the person who threw the bottle, and they will be banned for life from Mestalla. Valencia CF operate a zero tolerance policy on such actions and rigorously enforce all security measures set out by legislation."
Source:Goal.com

Blog re-opens today :-)

Apologies to my blog readers. You all must have noticed, I was away for a while... I'm sorry about this. Been busy with work and some other stuff :-)

Anyways, the blog is back now. Cheers, everyone!

Happy New Month, people!!

Here's wishing u all a happy new month. Merry Christmas & a prosperous New year ahead :-)     ~I.M