It’s end-of-year-events time. The short lists of World Player of the Year nominees were just announced, and the men’s side has a distinct Latin flavor, with players representing three countries, but just two Spanish teams: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Xavi against Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi could become just the second player along with Michel Platini to win three straight Ballon d’Or awards. The women’s finalists are Homare Sawa of World Cup champion Japan, Abby Wam­bach, and Marta.

The FIFA Club World Cup, pitting the champions of each of the six continents, is going on in Japan through Dec. 18. Watch it on FSC in the middle of the night.

Stanford (Division I), St. Rose (D II), and Messiah (D III) won the NCAA women’s championships last weekend; the men’s champions are Fort Lewis (D II) and Ohio Wesleyan (D III), with the Division I final four coming up this weekend.

Double shocker on the final day of European Champions League group play, as both Manchester City and Manchester United failed to advance to the last 16. The two London entries, Arsenal and Chelsea, went through, as did all three Italian teams, and two each from Spain, Germany, France, and Russia.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, a 52-year-old occasional striker for third-division club Vitosha Bistritsa, was voted Bulgaria’s 2011 Player of the Year in a fan poll, with 44% of the vote, compared to 24% for Manches­ter United’s Dimitar Berbatov. “It’s a protest vote,” said Borisov. “It is a signal that Bulgarian soccer needs reforms and a new policy. Organizers should annul the vote.” Bulgaria recently ended their worst tournament qualifying performance ever, finishing last in their Euro 2012 qualifying group.

Speaking of Euro 2012, Friday’s draw produced wildly disparate first-round groups: All four teams in Group B, for instance, are probably better than anyone in Group A. Here’s the field, with current world rankings:

A: Russia (12), Greece (14), Czech Republic (33), Poland (66)

B: Holland (2), Germany (3), Portugal (7), Denmark (11)

C: Spain (1), Croatia (8), Italy (9), Ireland (21)

D: England (5), France (15), Sweden (18), Ukraine (55)

Club World Cup Championship Field

Barcelona (Spain, Europe), Santos (Brazil, South America), Monterrey (Mexico, North America), Al-Sadd (Qatar, Asia), Espérance (Tunisia, Africa), Auckland City (New Zealand, Oceania), Kashiwa Reysol (Japan, host)

This article appears in December 9 • 2011.

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