collected his award from
former France striker
Thierry Henry
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been
named world footballer of the year after winning
the Ballon d'Or for the second year in a row.
The Portugal captain beat Barcelona forward Lionel Messi
and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the
award.
Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler was
named women's player of the year, while Colombia's
James Rodriguez won goal of the year.
Germany's World Cup winner Joachim Low won men's
coach of the year.
Wolfsburg boss Ralf Kellermann was named women's
football coach of the year after a successful defence of
the Champions League.
The three candidates for the Ballon d'Or were all picked
in the team of the year, along with defenders Philipp
Lahm, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos,
midfielders Andres Iniesta, Toni Kroos and Angel Di Maria
and forward Arjen Robben.
Ballon d'Or
Cristiano Ronaldo successfully defended his world
player of the year status convincingly with 37.66% of all
votes, winning for a third time. Barcelona and Argentina
counterpart Lionel Messi - who won four years in a row
until Ronaldo beat him last year, was second on 15.76%.
He was narrowly ahead of Bayern Munich and Germany
keeper Manuel Neuer, who had 15.72%.
Ronaldo, who scored 52 goals in 43 games during 2014,
looked emotional when collecting the award from
former France, Barcelona and Arsenal striker Thierry
Henry.
He said: "I would like to thank all of those who voted for
me, my president, my coach and Real Madrid. It has been
an unforgettable year. To win this trophy at the end of it
is something incredibly unique."
Women's World Player of the Year
Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler was
named women's player of the year. The 26-year-old beat
Brazil's Marta and United States international Abby
Wambach.
Kessler said: "My heart is beating madly at the moment. I
don't think I ever thought in my life I would achieve this
moment.
"Without my team-mates and my coach, this would
never have been possible. I have a great degree of
gratitude that I must give to my family. They have seen
me through all the difficult times."
Puskas Award (goal of the year)
Colombia's James Rodriguez won the Fifa goal of the
year award for his World Cup strike against Uruguay,
beating Irishwoman Stephanie Roche.
Roche, who scored a stunner for Peamount against
Wexford in the Irish top flight, had hoped to be the first
female winner of the Puskas Award.
But she landed only 33% of the public vote to
Rodriguez's 42%.
Read more about the award and see the goals here.
Fifa/Fifpro World XI
The Fifa team of the year was voted for by 20,000
professional footballers worldwide.
World coach - men's football
Germany boss Joachim Low won after leading his
country to World Cup glory in Brazil, beating Argentina
1-0 in the final.
"It is a huge honour after what's been an incredibly
successful year," he said. "It's the icing on the cake - the
cake obviously being the World Cup. I'm just taking this
award on behalf of everybody who has taken this team to
where it is. I would like to thank all the German coaches
who do so much good work with the young players. They
are all coaches of the year."
Low beat Diego Simeone, who led Atletico Madrid to the
Spanish title and Champions League final, and Real
Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, whose side beat their city
rivals in that game.
World coach - women's football
Wolfsburg boss Ralf Kellermann was named women's
football coach of the year after leading the German club
to a successful defence of the Champions League.
He said: "This award is an outstanding moment.
Unfortunately I've picked up an individual award for
what is team sport, so I dedicate this to my whole team. I
would also like to pay tribute to [Wolfsburg midfielder]
Junior Malanda, who was so sadly taken from us two
days ago."
Kellermann beat Germany Under-20 boss Maren Meinert
and Japan boss Norio Sasaki to the award.
Fair Play Award
The winner was the thousands of volunteers who gave
up their time to work at Fifa competitions - including the
World Cup - over the past 12 months.
Presidential Award
The Presidential Award was picked by Fifa president Sepp
Blatter for "a person that has made a superlative
contribution to football without seeking to monopolise
the limelight".
The winner was Japanese journalist Hiroshi Kagawa,
who covered his 10th World Cup last summer at the age
of 89
BBC News
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