FCBARCELONA.CAT

13.01.2009 12:17

A Barça top ten

Roger Bogunyà

There were no fewer than four Barça players in the top ten for this season’s FIFA World Player award. Messi, Xavi, Eto'o and Iniesta made Barça the most highly represented team among the best players of 2008.

Messi, who finished second, and Xavi, fifth, took the limelight in Zurich on Tuesday, but they were not the only Barça men in the top ten of the FIFA World Player 2008. Eto'o, seventh with 58 points, and Iniesta, ninth with 37, were also in the highest positions.

Xavi said that both of his team-mates deserved to be there. “I am also happy for them, because they have both been doing an extraordinary job for several years”.

No other team with four… or even three

Barça’s dominance has been sweeping. No other team has any more than two players in the top ten, the only one being Liverpool, for whom there were places for both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. The other players to make the top ten were David Villa (Valencia), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Kaká (Milan) and the overall winner, Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

Great moment

Xavi feels it all comes down to Barça’s amazing form. “Barça is healthy, the team works and our football is creative” he said. Messi spoke along similar lines. “When the team plays well, it is good for us all individually. We are playing great and this year things are working out for us. I hope we win an important title because that would mean that next year there will be even more of us vying for awards like this”, he said.