Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

He came, he saw, and he conquered. Barcelona star Lionel Messi was awarded the 2019 Ballon d'Or at a star-studded ceremony in Paris on Monday evening. Messi saw off strong competition from Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk to lift the world's best player trophy for a record sixth time, and for the first time since 2015. Messi won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009, after claiming the treble under Pep Guardiola. He went on to win again in 2010, 2011, and 2012. He claimed the award again in 2015 after Cristiano Ronaldo's two successive wins in 2013 and 2014. Messi is the first player in history to win six Ballon d'Or awards. Next in line is Cristiano Ronaldo with five. Messi won quite the lot of silverware this year with the likes of La Liga, Super Copa, the Golden Boot (for being Europe's leading goalscorer), the Pichichi (for being Spain's leading marksman), FIFA Men's Player of the Year, and being the Champions League's leading goalscorer (12 goals). ...

Liverpool manager 52-year-old Jurgen Klopp beat Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola to win the award for Best Men's coach at the FIFA The Best Awards in Milan this evening. Liverpool won the Champions League and came second in the Premier League last season, recording a tally of 97 points.  Jurgen Klopp made a heart-warming announcement upon accepting his award. He announced that he just joined the Common Goal Initiative set up by Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata. Joining CGI implies that 1% of his salary would be channeled to the charity which pledges to "generate social change and improve lives. Wow. It’s quite heavy! I have to say thank you to a lot of people, start with my family sitting at home watching. Nobody would have expected this 20 years ago, five years ago, four years ago. Mauricio, I won that game, that’s why I’m here not you. That’s just how football is. I say thank you to my oustanding club, LFC. Whoev...

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been crowned the UEFA Men's Player of the Year for his stellar performances during last season's Champions League.   The Dutchman played a pivotal role Liverpool's success at the 2018/2019 Champions League season and represented the Netherlands at the UEFA Nations League finals, with the Oranje finishing as runners-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament. The center-back beat superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the award.  He also claimed the Defender of the Year award, while Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker was named UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season. In the 36 games Van Dijk played last season, no opposition player managed to complete a single dribble past him. Manchester United legend Eric Cantona was honored with the prestigious UEFA President's Award, personally selected by current UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. Lionel Messi was named Forward of the Year while his Barcelona t...