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Messi business

FIFA hands out
some hardware
By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

he votes are in for FIFA’s

“world player of the year”
and, unsurprisingly, the title
goes to Lionel Messi. Clad in a
polka dot jacket and matching
bow tie, the Argentinian imp
took to the stage to accept the
award people predicted he
would win months ago.

It’s Messi’s fourth Ballon
d’Or in a row and it’s well
deserved. He’s head and
shoulders above the rest of the
world right now. That fact was
emphasized by his shattering of
Gerd Miiller’s goal record (85)
for a calendar year with 91 in 69
games. It seems to be a figure
better suited for a hockey player
of the ‘80s than a soccer player.
But Messi is real, as any Spanish
Primera club will tell you. In
fact, he’s too real.

One of the knocks on Messi
in the past has been his failure
to replicate his club success
for his country, but he safely
put that behind him this year,
scoring 12 goals for Argentina.
Toss in his ridiculous ability
to spot the perfect pass along
with his unstoppable dribbling
and knack for finding the back
of the net and it’s obvious that
he’s the complete package. The
Argentinian finished with 41.6
per cent of the vote, Cristiano
Ronaldo came second with 23.7
per cent, and Andrés Iniesta
finished third with 10.9 per
cent. Good to see that the world
agrees.

For the women’s game,
American Abby Wambach was
named top dog with Brazilian
Marta and fellow American
Alex Morgan finishing second
and third respectively. Similar
to Messi, the result was never in
any real doubt. After leading the
United States to Olympic gold,
Wambach was poised to take
home the hardware halfway
through the year.

More importantly though,
was the exclusion of Canadian
star Christine Sinclair. In the
words of Canada’s coach John
Herdman, her absence from the
top three was a “travesty.” And
he’s right. Sinclair almost single-
handedly drove the national
team to the bronze medal,
picking up the Golden Boot after
six goals (an Olympic record) in
the tournament. She finished the
year with 23 goals.

It’s just another FIFA snub.
Step out of line and they'll make
sure you pay for it. Canada’s
captain is already serving a
four-game suspension for
her comments following the
Canada-USA semi-final and it’s
clear that FIFA didn’t quite think
that was punishment enough.

Spanish national team coach
Vicente del Bosque took home
the Coach of the Year award for
the men after guiding La Roja to
a European title, and American
national coach Pia Sundhage
took home the honour on the
women’s side.

Changes for the Canucks

Will the results be
different?

By Elliot Chan, Contributor

or several years, the

Vancouver Canucks have
been a notoriously slow-start-
ing team. But somehow by
mid-season they pull a few
winning streaks together and
suddenly at the end they are on
top of the league and Presidents’
Trophy winners. This year,
with 48 games scheduled,
every game becomes so much
more important. Although
the core of the team is still
intact, several key areas of the
Canucks’ lineup may require
some tinkering. And if they
are unable to find chemistry
off the bat, then a short season
will feel a lot shorter.

The most crucial problem is
the absence of Ryan Kesler. After
a shoulder and wrist surgery in
the summer, the Canucks’ most
valuable two-way forward is
still recovering. With no sched-
ule set for his return and Kesler
refusing to risk any setbacks, the
team will simply have to cope

20

without him for the time being.
Left winger Chris Higgins will
be the most likely candidate to
replace Kesler as the second-line
centre. But concerning points,
David Booth, Jannik Hansen,
and Mason Raymond will be
expected to pick up the slack.
Despite everything Roberto
Luongo has done, Vancouver
still remains a goalie graveyard.
Amidst the skeletons of Dan
Cloutier and Felix Potvin, Cory
Schneider will now take the
spotlight as the number one
goalie in town. During his rise
through the Canucks organi-
zation, fans have developed
a bond with the 26-year-old
Massachusetts native. But
with Luongo’s departure
imminent, how many chances
will the fan base offer before
the faith in Schneider, like that
in his predecessor, runs dry?
While GM Mike Gillis
was fairly idle with free agent
signings this past summer,
there was a notable newcomer:
Jason Garrison from the Florida
Panthers. With a six-year
contract in place, Garrison is
taking on big shoes replacing
Sami Salo on the blue line. For
some, the lockout was a blessing
and that was just the case for
the White Rock native. Garrison

had been nursing a groin injury
when he was signed, but now
the 28-year-old player is ready
to hit the ice with his new team.
The Canucks’ depth has

been one of the team’s strengths
for many years and this one will
be no different. But since it is a

tighter schedule don’t expect

to see as many line changes
and swaps with the farm team.
Alain Vigneault needs to see
the big picture and get the team
to the playoffs; that means
relying on the core. Daniel and
Henrik Sedin must produce

 

Lionel Messi with the FIFA Meris World Player of the Year trophy

 

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

 

points, Alexander Edler and
Dan Hamhuis will need to
contribute on the power play,
and Corey Schneider must
elevate his game and become
the new face of the franchise. No
pressure, or anything.