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I've got to say, it was a good day, for FIFA on Monday. Nobody got arrested today. And they even got to hand out some awards that lots of people care about, but especially Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich fans. The rest of us need not apply.
Not that anybody realistically expected any of the nominated Chelsea players or staff to win anything. Mourinho was in the running for Coach of the Year, but there was only ever going to be one (deserved) winner in Luis Enrique.
Luis Enrique is named FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football #BallondOr https://t.co/XA2rmWKNGF pic.twitter.com/Pl8LTTrRGI
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) January 11, 2016
On the players side, none of our three stalwarts made the final cut for the FIFPro World XI. Unsurprisingly, the named 11 consisted mostly of Barca, Real, and Bayern players. Plus Paul Pogba. But that's because Paul Pogba is amazing.
THE 2015 FIFA FIFPRO WORLD XI:
G: Manuel Neuer
D: Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, Marcelo
M: Paul Pogba, Luka Modric, Andres Iniesta
F: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar
Eden Hazard did make the "reserve" team, while John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic both made the fifth (and final) reserve team. Congrats on their participation prizes!
Other winners on FIFA's big night included Jill Ellis (FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football), Carli Lloyd (FIFA Women's World Player of the Year), Wendell Lira (Puskás Award), and of course Lionel Messi, who despite not having any double-Ls in his name won yet another Ballon d'Or. It may be his fifth, or his twentieth. It's tough to keep track.