The 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the second year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 9 January 2012 with Lionel Messi claiming the title of world player of the year for the third time in a row.
The gala ceremony was hosted by former Ballon d'Or winner Ruud Gullit and broadcast journalist Kay Murray of Real Madrid TV and Fox Soccer Channel with singer-songwriter James Blunt and his band providing musical entertainment. Individual awards were presented by, among others, Ronaldo, Lothar Matthäus, Pelé and FIFA president Sepp Blatter side-by-side with pop singer Shakira.
The top three nominees for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or were:
The following 20 men were also in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011:
The top three nominees for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year were:
The following seven women were also in contention for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year:
The 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fourth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 13 January 2014. The deadline for voting was 15 November 2013 but was extended to 29 November 2013.
Real Madrid and Portugal left winger Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or award as the World Player of the Year. It was his second Ballon d'Or, after winning the award in 2008, as well as his first FIFA Ballon d'Or. Nadine Angerer was announced as the Women's World Player of the Year recipient, while Jupp Heynckes claimed the World Coach of the Year for Men's Football, and Silvia Neid the World Coach of the Year for Women's Football. The ninety-minute ceremony was hosted by Fernanda Lima along with Ruud Gullit.
The deadline for voting was 15 November 2013. However, for the first time ever, on 20 November 2013, FIFA announced that voting was extended to 29 November 2013 for "after receiving a response of less than 50% from eligible voters before the original deadline." It was also announced that any vote cast before the first deadline can be changed to "take into account recent performances." The winners were announced on 13 January 2014.
The 2001 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Michael Owen on 18 December 2001.
Owen was the fourth English national to win the award after Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979). He was also the first Liverpool player to win the trophy.
Additionally, twenty two players were nominated but received no votes: Sonny Anderson, Fabien Barthez, Gabriel Batistuta, Gianluigi Buffon, Cafu, Vincent Candela, Alessandro Del Piero, Marcel Desailly, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Iván Helguera, Harry Kewell, Patrick Kluivert, Samuel Kuffour, Hidetoshi Nakata, Pavel Nedvěd, Pauleta, Robert Pirès, Paul Scholes, Lilian Thuram, and Patrick Vieira.
The 1971 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Johan Cruyff on 28 December 1971.
Cruyff was the first Dutch national to win the award, and also the first Ajax player to win the trophy.
The 1958 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Raymond Kopa on 16 December 1958.