NATIONAL TEAM - SWITZERLAND - 2014 WORLD CUP - Goodbye, Ottmar Hitzfeld. All the best and take care.

Hitzfeld has made a positive impression wherever he has been stationed and his name is still regularly chanted in the stands at Bayern Munich.

“He put together a really good team that will last for many years to come,” Granit Xhaka told FIFA.com, before Josip Drmic added: “He’s done a great job.” 

2 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - ARGENTINA VS SWITZERLAND 1:0

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Argentina vs Switzerland 1:0

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - BELGIUM VS USA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Belgium vs USA 2:1

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - ARGENTINA - KEY PLAYER - ‪LIONEL MESSI - PROFILE

Lionel Andrés Messi; born 24 June 1987, is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. 

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - USA - KEY PLAYER - ‪JERMAINE JONES - PROFILE

Jermaine Junior Jones, born 3 November 1981, is a German-American footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Turkish club Beşiktaş. He has previously played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, Blackburn Rovers and Schalke 04. He was born in Germany and represented them at U21 and senior level.

1 Jul 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - NIGERIA - COACH - STEPHEN KESHI RESIGNS AFTER EXIT

He becomes the sixth manager to leave his job during the World Cup, following the departures of Honduras's Luis Suarez, Iran's Carlos Queiroz, Japan's Alberto Zaccheroni, Italy's Cesare Prandelli and Ivory Coast's Sabri Lamouchi.

Keshi, who captained Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup finals, was previously in charge of Mali and Togo.

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - FRANCE vs NIGERIA 2:0

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

France vs Nigeria 2:0

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - GERMANY vs ALGERIA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

Germany vs Algeria 2:1

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - GERMANY - KEY PLAYER - THOMAS MUELLER‬ - PROFILE

Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder, a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern Munich, and on the right for Germany.

He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion. Müller has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning.

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - FRANCE - KEY PLAYER - ‪KARIM BENZEMA - PROFILE

He has been named French Player of the Year twice for his performances in 2011 and 2012. Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. 

Benzema has earned over 65 caps and represented France at three major international tournaments; the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

30 Jun 2014

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - IVORY COAST - YAYA WINS 4TH TITLE IN A ROW

YAYA TOURÉ

 

Toure, 31, was nominated after playing a pivotal role in winning the Premier League and League Cup.

He also helped Ivory Coast qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Toure beat off the challenge of Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.

Midfielder Toure scored 20 goals in City's title-winning campaign and also netted the equaliser in the 3:1 Capital One Cup final victory over Sunderland at Wembley last March.

He has nine goals in 26 appearances for City in all competitions so far this season, including six goals in his last nine outings.

Toure also made the Fifa shortlist for the 2014 Ballon D'Or prize in October.

However, he has also had to contend with the disappointment of being part of an Ivory Coast side that lost two out of their three World Cup games. 

He was given the news of his brother Ibrahim's death only hours after the team lost their second World Cup match 2:1 to Colombia.

He also hit the headlines in May as a row over a birthday cake threatened to bring an end to his Manchester City career.

Everton striker Samuel Eto'o is the only other player to win the African Footballer of the Year award four times but his achievement was not in successive years.


Full list of winners:
    
African Player of the Year: 
• Yaya Toure
(Ivory Coast and Manchester City)

African Player of the Year: Based in Africa: 
• Firmin Mubele Ndombe
(DR Congo and AS Vita)
    
Women's Player of the Year: 
• Asisat Oshoala
(Nigeria and River Angels)

Youth Player of the Year: 
• Asisat Oshoala
(Nigeria and River Angels)

Most Promising Talent: 
• Yacine Brahimi
(Algeria and Porto)

Coach of the Year: 
• Kheireddine Madoui
(Entente Setif)

National Team of the Year: 
• Algeria

Women's National Team of the Year: 
• Nigeria

Club of the Year: 
• Entente Setif
(Algeria)

Referee of the Year: 
• Papa Bakary
Gassama (Gambia)

Football Leader of the Year: 
• Moise Katumbi - President of TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
    

African Legend award: 

• Oryx Club (Cameroon) 
- winners of the maiden edition of CAF Champions League 1964 and 

• Stade Malien (Mali) 
- runner up of the maiden edition of CAF Champion's League 1964

Platinum Award: 

• Dr Kwame Nkrumah (First President of Ghana) and 

• His Excellency Goodluck Jonthan (President of Nigeria)
    


CAF team of the 2014: 


Goalkeeper: 

Vincent Enyeama 
(Nigeria) 


Defenders: 

Jean Kasulula (DR Congo)

Mehdi Benatia 
(Morocco)

Stephane Mbia 
(Cameroon)

Kwadwo Asamoah 
(Ghana) 


Midfielders: 

Yaya Toure 
(Ivory Coast)

Yacine Brahimi 
(Algeria)

Fakhreddine Ben Youssef 
(Tunisia)

Ahmed Musa 
(Nigeria) 


Forwards: 

Asamoah Gyan 
(Ghana)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 
(Gabon) 


Substitutes: 

Raïs M'Bolhi 
(Algeria)

Firmin Mubele Ndombe 
(DR Congo)

Ferdjani Sassi 
(Tunisia)

Gervinho 
(Ivory Coast)

Abdelrahman Fetori 
(Libya)

Akram Djahnit 
(Algeria)

Roger Assalé 
(Ivory Coast)

 

 

11 Jan 2015
(bBC Sport UK)

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