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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

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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.