Rooney out of World 11 short list
PARIS: Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann both appeared among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Thursday but Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time.
Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, whi le France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament.
It is the first time that 25-yearold Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition’s 12- year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
That leaves Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo as the only ever-presents for an award based on votes from professional players from 75 countries.
Also absent from the list is Algerian international Riyad Mahrez, the top Premier League player last season with surprise champions Leicester. The eight newcomers also include France’s N’Golo Kanté and Dimitri Payet, Ivorian Serge Aurier, Spaniard Hector Bellerin, Italian Leonardo Bonucci, Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, Argentina’s Paulo Dybala and England’s Jamie Vardy.
Barcelona lead the way with 12 players, two more than rivals Real Madrid, whose selected players include Welsh winger Gareth Bale.
Other big names overlooked are Manchester City pair Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, Chelsea’s John Terry, Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, Porto’s Iker Casillas and Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez.
The list compiled by the FIFPro players’ union is based upon votes from 25,000 professional footballers with the World XI announced on Jan 9. — AFP REAL Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane’s son Enzo, 21, scored on his senior debut as the European champions brushed aside third-tier Cultural Leonesa 6-1 in the Copa del Rey. It was a dream start on Wednesday for Enzo, the oldest of Zidane’s four sons, all of whom play at different levels in Real’s youth teams. AFP Sports looks at five other famous footballing father-son combos.
• Johan and Jordi Cruyff
Following in the fleet-footed steps of his father Johan – one of the best players of all time – was always going to be a big ask for poor Jordi. Like his father Jordi was a forward, but sadly he did not go on to have anything like the brilliant career his dad had. Jordi started at Ajax and joined Barcelona’s famed youth set-up at La Masia before going on to carve out a brief professional career at the Camp Nou, although he was never able to shake the impression that his time at Barcelona was mostly to do with his dad, a player and then coach there. Jordi sealed a big move to Manchester United, proving he was a bit more than just a name, before returning to the lower rungs of La Liga after suffering a number of injuries. Insisted on playing with the name “Jordi” on the back of his shirt instead of “Cruyff” to get away from the association. Now 42, he is on the staff at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
• Cesare and Paolo Maldini
This father-and-son duo will forever remain two of Italy and AC Milan’s leading lights. Cesare is a four-time Serie A league winner and also lifted the European Cup in 1963. He followed that with a coaching career that saw him become Italy manager from 1996 to 1998. He made son Paolo, a terrifically talented and elegant defender who could play at left- back and centre- back, captain of Italy. A one- club man at AC Milan, he made his Serie A debut at 16, underlining his rich potential. He got his first Italy cap three years later and went on to play for his country 126 times in all, as well as enjoying a trophy-laden career at Milan.
• Peter and Kasper Schmeichel
Despite the obvious physical resemblance for a long time it looked like Kasper would never get anywhere near the achievements of his formidable father Peter, a Manchester United legend and Denmark goalkeeping great. Kasper, also a goalkeeper, cut his teeth at United’s great rivals Manchester City but never made much of an impression and was farmed out on loan all over Britain. He left City with little more than a whimper and looked doomed for oblivion. But he worked his way back up, first to Leeds United and then to Leicester City. It was a masterstroke and last season he was a key part of Leicester’s shock run to the Premier League title. Since linked with a big-money move and it would come as a surprise to nobody if Kasper, 30, one day made the move to United.
• Pele and Edinho
A sad case. Pele was the greatest footballer ever but for his son the incredibly famous name was a millstone around his neck. Brought up by his mother, “Edinho” did not even meet his father until he was 18. He forged a career as a decent enough goalkeeper over a nineyear period in the 1990s in Brazilian football, including at Santos – having the famous dad certainly opened doors. But his life outside football spiralled out of control and in 2014 he was sentenced to 33 years in prison for money laundering for an alleged drugs cartel. He is appealing and the lengthy legal process has left him in limbo. Now 46, he has also worked on the coaching staff for various Brazilian clubs.
• Alex and Darren Ferguson
Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest football coaches of all time, leading Manchester United to multiple domestic and European honours. It is no surprise then that son Darren was also on the scene at Old Trafford for a while, but never really made it. He had a decent enough playing career away from United but he is better known as a manager in his father’s no-nonsense style. Darren enjoyed success in English league football at Peterborough United first off and at one point looked like he might have what it takes to cut it in the Premier League as a coach. But his managerial career stalled and he is now in charge at unfashionable Doncaster United, currently riding high in the fourth tier of English professional football. — AFP