Two Croats in Running for FIFA’s ‘Ballon d’Or’ Award

(photo credit/ FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Two Croats are in the running for football’s premier award – the Ballon d’Or…

Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitić and Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić have made the list of 59 candidates for this year’s ‘Golden Ball’, writes Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport.

Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić

The award started in 2010 after France Football’s Ballon d’Or and the men’s FIFA World Player of the Year award were merged. The winner of the inaugural 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or was Lionel Messi who then went on to reclaim the title the following two years.

The award has been dominated by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as part of their ongoing rivalry. As of 2014, Ronaldo is the most recent recipient of the FIFA Ballon d’Or, after beating Messi and Manuel Neuer to the award.

Golden Ball 2015 candidates:
Aguero (M. City)
Mascherano (Barcelona)
Messi (Barcelona)
Otamendi (Valencia – M. City)
Pastore (PSG)
Tevez (Juventus – Boca)
Luongo (QPR)
Alaba (Bayern)
Courtois (Chelsea)
De Bruyne (Wolfsburg – M. City)
Hazard (Chelsea)
Coutinho (Liverpool)
Neymar (Barcelona)
Willian (Chelsea)
Bravo (Barcelona)
Medel (Inter)
Sanchez (Arsenal)
Vargas (QPR – Hoffenheim)
Vidal (Juventus – Bayern)
Kane (Tottenham)
Rooney (M. United)
Benzema (Real M.)
Griezmann (Atletico M.)
Lacazette (Lyon), Pogba (Juventus)
Atsu (Everton – Bournemouth)
Ayew (Marseille – Swansea)
Modrić (Real M.)
Rakitić (Barcelona)
Chiellini (Juventus)
Pirlo (Juventus – New York)
Okazaki (Leicester)
Son (Bayer Leverkusen – Tottenham)
Bacca (Sevilla – Milan)
Martinez (Porto – Atletico M.)
Ospina (Arsenal)
Rodriguez (Real M.)
Dos Santos (Villarreal – L.A. Galaxy)
Guardado (PSV)
Depay (PSV – M. United)
Robben (Bayern)
Kroos (Bayern)
Muller (Bayern)
Neuer (Bayern)
Obala Bjelokosti
Bony (Swansea – M. City)
Touré (M. City)
Guerrero (Corinthians – Flamengo)
Lewandowski (Bayern)
Ronaldo (Real M.)
Costa (Chelsea)
De Gea (M. United)
Iniesta (Barcelona)
Morata (Juventus)
Ramos (Real M.)
Ibrahimović (PSG)
Cavani (PSG)
Sanchez (River)
Suarez (Barcelona)
Bale (Real M.)