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FIFA released the 23 man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, and Bayern Munich led the way with 6 players on the list.
While Franck Ribery is the prohibitive favorite for the award, I believe that you can make strong cases for many of the Bayern players that have been nominated for this award. However, the award looks like it's Ribery's for the taking. Earlier this year, he won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award.
The shortlist for FIFA Coach of the Year was also released. Obviously, Jupp Heynckes should be a shoo-in for this award after leading Bayern to the first treble in the history of German football.
Ballon d'Or shortlist
(Teams are as of the end of the 2012-2013 season.)
Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur), Edinson Cavani (Paris St. Germain), Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris St. Germain), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Santos), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Luis Suárez (Liverpool), Thiago Silva (Paris St. Germain), Yaya Touré (Manchester City), Robin Van Persie (Manchester United), Xavi (Barcelona)
Coach of the Year shortlist
(Teams are as of the end of the 2012-2013 season.)
Carlo Ancelotti (Paris Saint-Germain), Rafael Benítez (Chelsea), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Vicente Del Bosque (Spain national team), Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich), Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), José Mourinho (Real Madrid), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil national team), Arsène Wenger (Arsenal).