Ronaldo, Messi Or Neuer? Who Will Win The Ballon d'Or Tonight?

The above photo shows the names of Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo being inscribed on plaques at the revered Mellerio dits Meller jewellery house in Paris.

Tonight, around 300 miles away at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, one will be inscribed on another opulent ornament.

Ronaldo Tops List Of UEFA'S Best Player In Europe As Messi Gets Snubbed

Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo have been named as the final three nominees for the Uefa Best Player in Europe award. The trio were named as part of an initial 10-man shortlist announced in July, which included Angel Di Maria, Diego Costa, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Philipp Lahm, James Rodriguez and Thomas Muller.

Current Ballon d'Or holder Ronaldo has now been voted into the final three, along with Bayern Munich's star winger Robben and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who added the World Cup to his Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal successes last season, but Barcelona's Argentine star could only finish fifth in the voting.

The winner will be announced on August 28 in Monaco during the group-stage draw for the Champions League.

Manuel Neuer's Return Boosts German Squad Ahead Of World Cup

Manuel Neuer has handed Germany a boost after his returning to training on Thursday.
The Bayern Munich keeper hurt his right shoulder in his side's 2-0 DFB Pokal final win over Borussia Dortmund on May 17 and there were concerns he could be a doubt ahead of the World Cup.

Team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on Wednesday that Germany would be adopting a cautious approach to his reintroduction, but Bayern have now confirmed that he has resumed preparations for Brazil.

The 28-year-old took part in a running session with his team-mates, but is not likely to be in contention for Sunday's friendly against Cameroon.

Bayern Munich's Goalkeeper Attacks Pep Guardiola's Tactics

No sooner had the final whistle blown last night than the inquest and recriminations of Pep Guardiola’s philosophy had begun.

Comprehensively beaten 0-5 over 2 legs by a tactically superior Real Madrid side, the mythology of Pep is being called into question in Germany, and even within the camp.

Keeper Manuel Neuer, the Bayern player who had the best view and time to observe the tactical context of the tie, had no hesitation in questioning their modus operandi over the two legs.

Check Out The Five Highest Paid Goal Keepers In The World

The goalkeeper position is regarded as the most valuable role on the soccer pitch. To be a great keeper, one needs to have exemplary skills between the pipes, together with a strong defense out front. Stopping the opposing offense from penetrating the goal, diving around a restricted box and using your hands to catch, throw and save the ball all takes superb reflexes, great anticipation and lots of practice to perfect.Today, the world has a number of the finest goalkeepers playing for several top level clubs in Premier league, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 showing great performances both at club and country-level soccer games. With their amazing skills and abilities to prevent opponents from scoring, they have gained fame proportional to their huge salaries.
So, let us take a look at the top five highest-paid goalkeepers in football today.

5. Victor Valdes – £5.00 Million Per Year

Jose Mourinho Envies Manual Pellegrini`s Manchester City

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he would swap places with Manchester City in the Premier League title run-in due to Manuel Pellegrini’s side having control over their own destiny.

The Stamford Bridge side lead City by six points after a 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday, but the Capital One Cup winners have two games in hand and a superior goal difference to Chelsea.

Pellegrini is targeting an unprecedented Quadruple after collecting his first silverware as City boss with a 3-1 success over Sunderland at Wembley on Sunday, and Mourinho insists the Chilean’s team currently have the edge in the title race.

MANUEL NEUER: I Know How Mesut Ozil Plays His Penalty

“I know how Mesut Ozil takes penalties. I knew he would wait a long time before deciding in which corner to shoot but of course he could have picked any corner.” – Manuel Neuer on his saved penalty from Mesut Ozil.

Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer have been team mates for Germany’s international side for some time as well as in the Under-21s.

What is not that well know is they even went to the same school – as the picture above proves. Both Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer went to the Gesamtschule Berger Feld school which is close to Schalke’s Veltins Arena. It is one of the largest secondary schools in Germany and often features highly rated young footballers who go on to play for Schalke.

ARSENAL 0 BAYERN MUNICH 2: Super Neuer Leads Germans To victory

That Bayern Munich are ahead in this last-16 tie is down to Manuel Neuer, not Toni Kroos or Thomas Muller. The majority of the second half may have played out like a lot of Bayern matches play out - with Pep Guardiola's team in the Arsenal half, probing and dragging the opposition from side to side looking for an opening, but they were given that right to compete by a virtuoso display from Neuer in the Bayern goal. For all the passes, all the possession and all the shots on target, this win was very easy to analyse. It was the goalkeeper who won it for them.

The half-time break brought a turnaround, not only in their fortunes against 10 men, but in their strategy. Those 15 minutes gave Bayern the chance to calm down and remind themselves of their superiority. Were it not for Neuer, that would not have happened.

"You automatically feel confident when you know that you have the best goalkeeper in the world standing behind you," Dante said last month.

MANUEL NEUER: We Must Stop Arsenal's Game Plan

Manuel Neuer has told his Bayern Munich team-mates that they must stifle Arsenal's passing game if they are to win at the Emirates on Wednesday. The Bavarians defeated Arsene Wenger's side from the Champions League on away goals last term en route to the title but were made to survive a scare when the Gunners won 2-0 at the Allianz Arena.

However, the Germany goalkeeper is optimistic over his side's chances of winning in north London once more as they prepare for a rematch.