体坛英语新闻：Barcelona sweeps Golden Ball nominations

BEIJING, Dec. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Barcelona will win the Golden Ball award this year. FIFA, the world football governing body, has named three nominees for the Golden Ball – a statuette that is presented to the best football player of the year.

All three are from the Barcelona team of Spain – halfbacks Andres Iniesta and Xavi and forward Lionel Messi, who is of Argentinean origin.

The award is granted jointly by FIFA and "France Football".

Barcelona players Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Lionel Messi are the three nominees for FIFA's "Ballon d'Or" award for the world player of the year. Photo taken on January 2, 2010 shows Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi, and Andres Iniesta (L-R) posing with their trophies.

The nominees for the title of Best Coach are Spaniards too. They are Vicente del Bosque, coach of the Spanish national football team, Josep Guardiola, Barcelona's manager, and Jose Mourinho, the coach of Real Madrid. The winners will be announced in Zurich, Germany later this week.