Chelsea star nominated for FIFA award

Chelsea star Petr Cech is one of five nominees for the goalkeeper’s position for the 2013 FIFA/FIFPro World XI.

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) and Victor Valdes (Barcelona) join Cech on the shortlist of goalkeeping talent.

The winner will be revealed at the FIFA Ballon d’Or award ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 13th.

I’m not particularly a fan of the Ballon d’Or awards and think it’s a load of pomp and ceremony to celebrate the most popular player in any given year, not the best player that actually deserves to pick up the gong. The fact the likes of Casillas has been nominated over Thibaut Courtois, who has conceded just 28 goals in 36 La Liga matches, is just one example of what a sham the event is.

But I am glad to see that Cech has been recognised for his good work in between the sticks for Chelsea even though you would think Neuer would comfortably earn that spot in the World XI after winning a treble with Bayern Munich during the last campaign.

Cech was one of the shining lights in what has been a testing couple of years for the Blues and represents the resilience they have shown to earn two major European honours in two seasons despite not being the peak of their powers or at the same level as Europe’s elite, but they’ve stood toe-to-toe with them and beat them.

Last season it was the Europa League for Chelsea which seemed a consolation prize after the embarrassment of being knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages. We’ve seen big teams go out early before but rarely do you see one of them even bother trying to win the competition they’ve fallen into, so I thought it showed good spirit from Chelsea and Cech is a big part of that.

Cech is currently in his tenth season at the club and is still at the top of his game, and must remain so as Courtois is ready and waiting to take his place if possible.

Congratulations to Cech for being nominated.