Messi named European player of year

BARCELONA, Spain – Barcelona’s 22-year-old Argentinian striker Lionel Messi has won the 2009 Golden Ball award for best player in the European soccer leagues. The award was given by France Football, which placed Messi ahead of other soccer greats like Portugal’s Christian Ronaldo and Brazil’s Kaka.

Scoring 473 points out of a maximum 480, Messi was 240 points ahead of second-placed Cristiano Ronaldo and became the fifth South American to win the award after Brazilians Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka.

“It’s a great honor for me to win the Golden Ball,” said Messi, according to AFP. “Barcelona had a successful year in which it won everything, but I didn’t expect to win by such a wide margin. … the Golden Ball is very important to me. All those who won it were great players.” He dedicated his award to his family, his club and his country.

Messi, who will receive his award in Paris on Dec. 6, was honored, according to DPA, after an extraordinarily successful year in which Barcelona won the Spanish League, the King’s Cup, the Champions’ League, the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup. He also helped Argentina qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

On top of his 23 goals for Barcelona in the Spanish League, Messi’s nine goals in 12 matches, according to EFE, made him the leading scorer in the Champions League.

When asked about his future plans, Messi told AFP that he intends to continue “working to win more titles," although he admitted it would be “difficult to repeat such a successful year.” France Football, on the other hand, believes, “If he wins more trophies with Barcelona and shines in the World Cup, he could be the first player for 20 years to win the Golden Ball twice in succession.”

The French magazine has been awarding its prize for best European soccer player since 1956, but it was only in 1995 that it made all players in the European leagues eligible, regardless of their origin. Messi is the first Argentinian to win the Golden Ball. Although Alfredo di Stefano (1957 and 1959 winner) and Jorge Omar Sivori (1956 winner) were born in Argentina, they were respectively Spanish and Italian citizens when they won the award.