Young Player Of The Tournament

[Rangers_Fureva]

Fifa have announced a six-man shortlist for the Gillette Best Young Player award, with controversial Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina wonderkid Lionel Messi both in contention for their performances at the World Cup finals.

Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Germany hot-shot Lukas Podolski, Swiss star Tranquillo Barnetta and Ecuador's Luis Valencia are the other names in the frame for the prestigious prize in its inaugural year.

Fans have been able to vote from a list of 40 players since the start of the tournament, with Valencia, Ronaldo and Messi topping the poll, whilst the other three members of the shortlist have been nominated by Fifa's Technical Study Group.

Villarreal midfielder Valencia somewhat surprisingly topped the fans' list with a massive 331,087 votes after his country's run to the second round, whilst Ronaldo, currently hitting the headlines after Portugal's defeat of England, polled 241,775 and Barcelona starlet Messi 118,733.

The 14 members of Fifa's Technical Study Group will now deliberate over the final six, with a decision set to be made on Friday.

Fifa will choose the winner based on the criteria of "style, charisma, fair play and appetite for the game, as well as pure technical skill," according to the official World Cup website.

I'd say Ronaldo deserves it, apart from his deveous wink at the England game and whatnot, he's showed to be a right good player when on form. I reckon it will be close with him and Podolski.

Why the hell is Messi in for a shout?

[Haribo]

I hope Podolski wins, Ronaldo has cheated far too much to deserve it. And why the hell is Messi on the list?

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Podolski or Barnetta for me they've both impressed.

Ronaldo hasn't done enough.

Messi must've played about an hour and the other two didn't stand out too much

[Yi-Long]

Van Persie.

[Teekay]

I think Podolski should get it, even tough I hate him.

[Bish]

1st Fabregas - When he came in did brilliantly and showed why there's so much hype about him
2nd Podolski - Started off slowly but still at 21 and moving to Bayern, he's gonna be some player in 4 years time.
3rd Ronaldo - Yes he's a cheating diving cunt but in all the other games has looked impressive, though he's still some way off becoming the player he's expected to be.

[Gun_Runner]

what age is Lahm? Ronaldo's had a good tournament regardless of what the haters say...I was impressed by Barnetta aswell I thought he had a great tournament. Although I cant see it going to a player that didnt get past the last 16...so I reckon Ronaldo or Podolski will get it...and for Messi to be in the list is just silly.

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Lahm is only 21 i think.

Shocking that he isn't in that list. He'd be my no.1 choice.

[Huw]

How old is Rubery ? I think has has got better in every game and does a hell of a lot of work for France and isnt scared to try different things

[Nturtle]

Heh...Rubery Ribery is 22 I think...

Yeah...Lahm would be my choice...

Valancia - I wouldn't even had known he was a youngster..but he had a first team spot from the start...so he's defintiely due some credit.

Club loyalty aside...Fabregas made a lot of difference to Spain...and to be fair...C. Ronaldo is very influential at Portugal...

It's tough...but no way should Messi get it.

[Venolan]

Lahm should but wont get the golden boot because hes a defender and FIFA like choosing midfielders and strikers that score lots of goals because they dont always consider defenders to be the next big talent when they should!

[Barry]

Podolski has been shit so far, once again damn you FIFA.

Valencia was surprising for me, so there.

[Haribo]

Originally Posted by Venolan

Lahm should but wont get the golden boot

Well he's only got 1 goal...

[dorval]

Ronaldo deserves it. Podolski is shit and shouldn't be on the list.

[Singh]

Van persie? Messi?

Should be C. Ronaldo. Podolski is not shit, him and Klose linked up well. And i wouldnt bet against him scoring a few vs the Portugese.