A recap of La Liga, Man City drops points at home, Russian side Anzhi’s ambitious plans to splash money in the summer transfer window, and much more lead today’s top stories. Links for all stories below will open in a new window.

Man City salvages a draw but drops points in EPL title race (ESPNSoccernet.com)

A recap of Saturday’s La Liga including Real and Barca victories (ESPNSoccernet.com)

Aston Villa’s Petrov receives standing ovation at Villa Park (BBC.co.uk)

Mexico qualifies for Olympics with 3-1 win over Canada (CONCACAF.com)

Russian club Anzhi prepared to spend hundreds million in summer (SI.com)

Sir Alex praises calming influence of Wayne Rooney (Guardian.co.uk)

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Man City to bid for Ronaldo, Luke Rodgers exits MLS, an update on Fabrice Muamba, Villa captain Petrov diagnosed with a serious illness, and much more lead today’s top stories. Links for all stories below will open in a new window.

Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov diagnosed with Acute Leukaemia (AVFC.co.uk)

Arsenal Manger Arsene Wenger give 3 match ban from UEFA (UEFA.com)

Fabrice Muamba tweets picture showing his progress (Guardian.co.uk)

Luke Rodgers’ visa denied; contract denied by mutual consent (MLSSoccer.com)

FIFA Executive Committee agrees to reforms (FIFA.com)

Man City to launch record bid for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (Goal.com)

Football rumors/gossip from around the EPL (Football365.com)

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The latest FIFA World Rankings are out and Spain continues to be on the top spot. There is a bit of change in the top 5 as the Netherlands move up to 2nd and Germany moves down to 3rd. Brazil rounds out the top five by moving up two spots while fellow South American side Argentina jumps three spots to eighth place.

Overall, there’s not a huge difference in the rankings with most teams moving only a few spots or less. The teams making the biggest jump in the rankings are the USA who are now 27th (up 4 spots) and South Korea who moved up to 30th (up 4 spots). The top 30 of the rankings are below.

The next set of rankings will be released on April 11, 2012.

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In Episode 17 of the podcast, ESPN.com’s Jeff Carlisle talks about the upcoming MLS season and the USA National Team. First, Jeff gives his thoughts on the LA Galaxy’s chances heading into the 2012 season. After that, he talks about the US Men’s National Team with a detailed look at the possible roster for the 2014 World Cup. You can follow him on Twitter @jeffreycarlisle and or read his articles here.

The 90th Minute Podcast – Episode 17 Featuring Jeff Carlislek

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It’s been a few months since the initial projection and it’s changed a bit with several friendlies taking place. Overall, the core of the team remains the same with the final spots still unclear. This projection is of what the team (23 man squad) will be for the World Cup (in 2014) and not during qualifying.

The third goalkeeper could change but for now I’m giving it to Nick Rimando. David Yelldell could also be in that spot and it’s probably a coin flip on who will be selected. There’s no change to the defense and forwards but that’s not to say these are stable. Aging veterans like Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo are not guarantees to be around in two years and Omar Gonzalez has to return from a torn ACL.

The first six or so midfield spots are easy to pick with a few question marks for the last two spots. Brek Shea has a bright future but he failed to impress during recent friendlies. Robbie Rogers continues to get opportunities and recently made a move to English Championship side Leeds United. Neither Shea or Rogers are anything close to a lock at this point.

The latest projection is below.

USA 2014 World Cup Squad Projection – Version 1.5

Goalkeepers (3) – Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando

Defenders (8) – Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Tim Ream, Omar Gonzalez, Timmy Chandler, Eric Lichaj, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector

Midfielders (8) – Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu, Brek Shea, Jermaine Jones, Robbie Rogers

Forwards (4) – Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury, Edson Buddle

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FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has once again won the FIFA Ballon d’or, which is awarded to the top player. Messi, who led Barcelona to the La Liga and UEFA Champions League trophies, was the clear favorite heading into today’s ceremony. Cristiano Ronaldo finished 2nd to Messi while teammate Xavi Hernandez finished third in voting for the second straight year.

It wasn’t a total success for Messi in 2011 as Argentina struggled in the Copa America and Barcelona lost

The voting was not that close with Messi receiving almost half all votes.

Leo Messi: 47,88%
Cristiano Ronaldo: 21,6%
Xavi: 9,23%

Messi stated in his acceptance speech that credit should be given to his teammates including Xavi.

“Xavi, this Ballon d’Or is yours as well”

“We’ve shared this moment for four years. This Ballon d’Or is also yours (Xavi). Without your help I would not be here.”

The Ballon d’Or was first awarded in 1956 and changed to the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2010. It originally was only available to European players on European clubs but has recently been opened up any player. Messi is now tied with Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, and Michel Platini.

Messi is only 24 and at this point could end up winning many more Ballon d’Or trophies.

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It was a year of good and bad for the beautiful game. As 2012 nears, it’s time to reflect on this past year in the world of soccer. Who was the worst transfer, the worst moment, miss, and more? Below is my list of the worst of 2011 soccer awards.

Worst Transfer - Fernando Torres

This wasn’t too hard to pick as Torres cost roughly 50 million pounds (around $75 million) and has scored three goals in 28 appearances. Torres has looked a shell of the player he was at Liverpool and lately has been relegated to the bench. He could still turn things around but for 2011 it was clearly a poor transfer for Chelsea. There shouldn’t be a ton of blame placed on Chelsea for making the move as Torres, when in form, is still capable of being one of the top strikers in the world.

Worst Moment - Sepp Blatter

Blatter made headlines, for all the wrong reasons, when he spoke about racism in the sport. He said the following:

“There is no racism [on the field], but maybe there is a word or gesture that is not correct.The one affected by this should say this is a game and shake hands.”

Now, anyone can make misguided or insensitive comments, but this is just one of several missteps from FIFA and Blatter. They continue to lose credibility and trust from fans, media, and players. The fallout from picking Qatar for 2022 is still there and few believe there wasn’t some money or bribes involved with the decision. This statement might not have been enough to been the worst this year but based it being Blatter and all the problems with FIFA, it adds up to be the worst of 2011.

Most Disappointing Team - NY Red Bulls

At times, the MLS side looked unstoppable but ended up struggling to make the playoffs and eventually eliminated in the quarterfinals. On paper, the team has lots of talent but consistently underachieved on the pitch. It’s not totally clear what went wrong but certainly deserves some blame. The Mexican defender was given a large contact but was a bust and even called out teammates for not being good enough. The team could be losing Tim Ream in the transfer window but could use that money to bring in another top player.

The Red Bulls serve as notice that bringing in top players doesn’t always translate to victories. It’s important to have chemistry and consistency, something that that Red Bulls never had in 2011.

Worst Miss - Fernando Torres

Torres is an easy target these days but his miss on September 18th against Manchester United was poor. The Spaniard had dribbled around the goalkeeper and had an open net from inside the box. He missed in several feet wide and while the goal might not have changed the result (3-1 Man Utd win), it certainly would have helped to give confidence to Torres. There are probably other misses that were easier but Torres’ is the worst based on several reasons. Torres has been a top notch striker (look at Liverpool scoring record), his transfer fee cost, and the fact it was in a crucial EPL match.

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FC Barcelona defeated Santos FC 4-0 in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday, December 17, 2011.

Santos FC 0-4 FC Barcelona Recap

Barcelona won their second FIFA Club World Cup trophy in three years as they dominated Brazilian side Santos.

The Spanish side were once against led by the Argentine Lionel Messi who had goals in the 16th minute and 82nd minute. The other goals were scored by Xavi in the 23rd minute and Cesc Fabregas in the 44th minute. Santos, who most thought were the second best team in the tournament (behind Barcelona), never really appeared to have a chance once Barcelona took the lead.

It’s been an impressive tournament for Barcelona as they beat Al Sadd 4-0 in the semifinal. The only downside has been the injury to David Villa (broken leg). The injury is expected to sideline Villa for most (if not all) of the La Liga & Champions League with a return for Euro 2012 (June) possible.

Messi and Adriano lead the scoring for the tournament with two goals a piece while Santos had three players with one goal each. Neymar, who has been the topic of speculation about a big money transfer to Europe, didn’t have a great performance in the final. It’s still unclear when/if he’ll move to Europe but it seems a very real possibility it could be at Barcelona.

Barcelona will play a second leg in the Copa del Rey on December 22 before their winter break. They return to La Liga on January 8th. Santos’ domestic season has finished.

Santos FC 0-4 FC Barcelona Match Stats

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The FIFA Club World Cup, an annual competition between the top clubs in each region, is currently taking place in Japan. The 2011 edition is the 8th of the tournament and despite having clubs like Barcelona and Santos, it’s usually not viewed as that prestigious. How can the tournament be improved on and off the pitch? Below are three ideas.

Three Ways To Improve The FIFA Club World Cup

Expand The Tournament - Currently, there are six qualifiers from six confederations plus the top team from the host country. The current format should stay the same but there could be several more teams added. There could be playoffs between regions as in World Cup Qualifying such as the CONCACAF Champions League runner-up playing the Copa Libertadores runner-up or AFC Champions League runner-up playing the CAF Champions League runner-up. The field could be expanded to 12 or 16 teams.

Other options for the extra teams could be chosen based on the strength of each region. For example, UEFA would get the most teams followed by CONMEBOL and the rest split up amongst the other regions. While there’s not a universal ranking system for club teams, one could be created and the top ranked sides not automatically qualified could be selected. Whatever way is decided, it definitely improve the tournament to include more of the top teams from Europe as well as other nations (such as USA) where they haven’t been represented at the tournament.

Have Europe/USA Host - The tournament has been played almost every time in Asia/Middle East (with exception of 2000 in Brazil) which makes for not the most ideal television kickoff times for Europe, North America, and South America. For example, the semifinals  are played or 5:30 AM USA Eastern Time, 11:30 AM UK time, and 12:30 PM CET (Central Europe) time. Moving the tournament to Spain, Italy, Germany, England, or somewhere else in Europe would help to improve TV ratings in these countries.

Another reason is that the tournament needs to move to different areas each year to help grow the tournament. While Asia and the Middle East are areas where soccer is growing, it can make the tournament an afterthought in other places. It’s a similar theory to the World Cup that it’s a good idea to move the tournament around to help it grow globally. By keeping it almost exclusively in one region, it’s going to prevent the tournament from increase in popularity and prestige.

Move The Tournament To Summer - This point goes along with the previous as it’s virtually impossible to have a tournament in the Middle East during the summer (110 degree weather). While there are leagues that play in the summer (MLS, Scandinavia), moving it July/August could be a great way to lead into the upcoming domestic seasons. The tournament could be played in December (which it currently is now) if it is held in the Middle East in certain years or during World Cup years.

These are just a few ideas to improve the FIFA Club World Cup but I wouldn’t hold my breath about these happening. The tournament is already scheduled to be in Asia/Middle East through 2014 and there’s no sign that it will be moved to Europe and/or the USA.

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Below are predictions for all the AFC 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. Times listed below are GMT or local UK time.

AFC 2014 World Cup Qualifying Match Predictions

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Thailand v Australia, 11:00 – Australia wins 3-1

Singapore v China, 11:30 – 1-1 Draw

Indonesia v Iran, 12:00 – Iran wins 1-0

Lebanon v South Korea, 12:30 – 0-0 Draw

Uzbekistan v Tajikistan, 13:00 – Uzbekistan wins 2-0

Kuwait v UAE, 14:30 – Kuwait wins 2-0

Jordan v Iraq, 16:00 – Jordan wins 2-0

Qatar v Bahrain, 16:00 – 1-1 Draw

Saudi Arabia v Oman, 16:30 – Saudi Arabia wins 2-1

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