Hope Solo, FC Barcelona Headline the Top 20 Newsmakers in World Football

2011 is drawing to a close so it is important to remember the moments of world football that defined it. The movers and shakers were there, as well as the teams that made the headlines this year.

It was also a year in which UEFA approved the Fair Financial Play rules in order to make sure that a club had financial stability before purchasing players.

The year was also full of news from Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and a new club called Anzhi Makhachkala. The news was full of Ronaldo, Messi, and plenty of Tevez.

The invitation is set to sit back and relax with the intention of enjoying the slideshow of world football in the year 2011.

Hope Solo

Goalkeeper Hope Solo has been the news item for 2011. Solo showed the world that the US Women's National Team exists by reaching out to a non world football audience.

She attracted attention with he participation in the TV program "Dancing With The Stars". Solo proved that she was able to show grace under pressure off as well as on the field.

She appeared in the Lopez Tonight and was able to silence host George Lopez with a dunking contest. Solo even did an ESPN commercial with Alex Morgan that was a success.

Solo attracted the most attention when she posed nude (with other athletes) in ESPN The Magazine for the month of October. She has been able to balance these extra activities along with her job as a goalkeeper for magicJack.

Nives Celzijus

Nives Celzijus was the subject of a slideshow written and published by fellow B/R Reporter Wags Willy. She's a former model for Playboy and current columnist for Bild magazine from Germany.

She is also the WAG of Croatian defender Dino Drpic of AEK Athens. Celzijus decided to try singing as a career and dedicated her first song to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Her singing is out of this world and is worth listening. It remains to be seen whether she can initiate another career as a singer.

Tevez the Traitor

Carlos Tevez made world football news by singing a different tune from that of Nives Celzijus. Tevez shocked many by his betrayal of Manchester City during the club's UEFA Champions League group stage match against Bayern Munich.

Tevez took treason to a higher level when he refused an order from Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini. Mancini told Tevez to play in the second half of the match.

The Argentine refused, and the result was a shutout of City by Bayern Munich. He received disciplinary action and was ostracized by the Manchester City fans, with good reason.

Tevez tried to shrug the problem by saying that there were problems in translation. The result was that the issue was made worse by the explanation.

The teams that did not want him this past summer are Corinthians (although they are reconsidering) and Al Wasl (a United Arab Emirate team managed by fellow Argentine Diego Maradona). Anzhi Makhachkala expressed an interest in Tevez, but the conclusion is that he is finished in football by his treason.

Anzhi Makhachkala

Anzhi Makhachkala was founded in 1991 at a time when Chechnya and surrounding areas were the scene of intense conflict. The club has since evolved. Its owner Suleyman Kerimov is spending big money for players.

Anzhi has signed high-profile players like Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto'o, Diego Tardelli, Yuri Zhivkov, and Jucilei Da Silva. The emerging club has expressed a desire to sign Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Genaro Gattuso (AC Milan), and Maicon (Inter Milan).

Carlos, now the interim manager of the club, has talked about more signings of players such as Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Carlos Tevez. Anzhi has even considered trying to bring in Fabio Capello or Jose Mourinho as manager.

It remains to be seen how deep are the pockets of Anzhi Makhachkala.

Saturn Moscow Oblast RIP

Saturn Moscow Oblast is used as an example as to why UEFA approved the financial fair play rules for its members. The club lasted from 1946-2011, when it closed because financial problems.

The club was owned by the Moscow regional government, and its last years were saddled with debts. The attempts to save the club via a deal with Cerveceria Modelo (parent company of Corona) and Vladimir Romanov (Lithuanian Businessman) failed, leading the club to its death knell.

The result was a tragic end to a football club.

FC Barcelona vs Chivas Guadalajara in Miami Florida

The city of Miami was the host of a friendly match between FC Barcelona and Chivas Guadalajara. The date and venue was Sun Life Stadium on August 3.

The match was planned around Christmas in 2010 with Barcelona announcing the possibility of a match in August against AC Milan. The people in Miami were ecstatic, since Barca was going to be visiting the city for the first time.

Milan decided not to participate and Chivas stepped in for the match. People could not stop talking about the match.

In the end, the final scoreline was 4-1 to Chivas. The match was historical in that it broke all previous records of attendance with more than 70,000 people at Sun Life Stadium.

Gerard Pique and Shakira

2011 started with rumors of a romance between Gerard Pique and Shakira. The rumors were later confirmed as fact. While I couldn't care less about the romance between the two, the couple have promoted Barcelona to the world.

Pique is also a footballer in his right who has helped the Catalan club in good as well as not so good times. He admits that eventually he would like to continue with the club as president.

FC Barcelona Wins 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League

Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on May 29.

The club had previously won the title on three different occasions (1991-92, 2005-06, and 2008-09).

United managed to resist for a while but were unable to stop the onslaught. The result of the match was a 3-1 win to Barca, and the party started in Barcelona throughout the night.

Cesc Fabregas Signs with FC Barcelona

Cesc Fabregas finally signed with Barcelona after a deal worth $48 million between the club and Arsenal was reached. This meant the return of Fabregas to his hometown.

Cesc has already left his mark on Barca. He's scored four goals within five games.

Fabregas had four assists with eight shots so far in the 2011-2012 La Liga season for Barca. Although, the best is still yet to come from the talented midfielder.

Fernando Torres' Move from Liverpool to Chelsea

Fernando Torres signed with Chelsea in the beginning of the year. The purpose was for Torres to score goals like he did for Liverpool and lead Chelsea to Champions League success.

The deal between the two clubs had a $79 million price tag. The result so far is that Torres has only been able to score three goals since his arrival at Chelsea.

The first goal was scored during the 2010-11 Premier League season. The last two were in the beginning of this season.

He has been trying to score, but he has been able to prove that he could move around assisting in other players' goals.

During the match between Chelsea and Swansea, he was able to move the ball and tackled Swansea midfielder Mark Gown. The result was a red card for Torres, although the jury is hung on whether he deserved it or not.

USA vs Honduras: Sun Life Stadium, Miami (October 8)

The US Men's National Team underwent a radical change in direction after its humiliating loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Bob Bradley was forced to resign as coach of the team.

He was replaced by Jurgen Klinsmann, who was instrumental in the rejuvenation of the German national team. The beginning of a new era was marked with the need for something and someone new.

The result was a change in formation, gradual phasing in of younger players, and a reshaping of the defense.

The first match under Klinsmann was against Mexico and resulted in a draw. Matches against Costa Rica and Belgium both resulted in defeats.

The USA faced Honduras at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on a wet October night. The heavy rain, thunder, and winds could not stop this match from being played.

Tim Howard was excellent as goalkeeper, and Clint Dempsey scored the only goal of the game. The goal gave the USA its first victory under Jurgen Klinsmann.

The attendance was 21,170, with spectators braving the elements to enjoy this electrifying match.

The US continued toward New Jersey, where they face off against Ecuador. The team lost to Ecuador but proved that they are a force to be reckoned with.

It is hoped that the supporters of US Soccer have the patience for gradual change.

Maradona: The Dark Side?

The North American Continent received the latest news concerning Diego Maradona from Gabriel Buono who had resigned as his secretary. Buono described a Maradona without a "code of ethics" who "spoke bad about other personalities in Argentine Football".

The rest of the revelations of Maradona were that of a person who thought about himself, leaving people out in the cold, and escaping from his rehabilitation treatment program in Cuba. Buono talked about how he sacrificed his family for Maradona, until he could not take it anymore.

The news has received publicity in Spain, Latin America, Equatorial Guinea, and the US Latin community. Maradona has not responded to what Buono had to say.

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi celebrated his 75th birthday and 25 years at the helm of AC Milan. The Berlusconi Era of AC Milan has been one of the most exciting chapters in the history of the club.

2011 was no exception when he declared that 50 percent of the victories by Barcelona were based on "luck."

Berlusconi reaffirmed his theory of superiority of Milan over Barcelona during his 75th birthday celebration.

Many wonder why Milan refused to play a friendly match against FC Barcelona if the club thought that Barca's victory were based on luck? The answer will never be known.

Gattuso Goes to Extremes

AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso headbutted Joe Jordan, an assistant coach of Tottenham Hotspur, during the Champions League match between the two clubs. Gattuso later apologized to Jordan, but UEFA handed the player a four-match ban, which was well deserved.

AC Milan did not appeal the UEFA ruling.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 25th anniversary at the helm of Manchester United. Manchester University honored his service to the club by awarding him an honorary doctorate.

Fabrian Garoncy recorded a tribute to Ferguson called "Red Is The Man (Sir Alex Ferguson)." The song is symbolic of what the manager has done for Manchester and many of its athletes.

Javier Hernandez, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, and others have grown professionally under the leadership of Ferguson. He has even shown resilience in the face of threats such as the Glazer family, who owns Manchester United.

Ferguson will go down in history as United's greatest manager.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez signed with Manchester United from Chivas Guadalajara. Football, especially in England, has not been the same.

Hernandez has recently renewed his contract with Manchester United for another five years. Hernandez had a great start last year in the Premier League.

The Mexican striker is popular with the people of Manchester United, the city of Manchester and the league itself. Hernandez left the impression of an athlete who is down to earth and grateful.

Hernandez scored 22 goals within 52 appearances since signing with United. The history of Manchester United is now written with the name of Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez.

Manchester United Wins 2010-2011 Premier League

Manchester United achieved a victory over Blackburn to win the 2010-2011 English Premier League. The victory was made possible by a 70th-minute goal from the penalty spot by Wayne Rooney.

The goal was controversial but remained. It was a record 19th title for United in England's top division. Since the Premier League's inception in 1993, the club has won titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2011.

Neymar

Neymar has been in the news because of his difficult decision of whether to remain in Brazil or go to Europe. 

He had been rumored to sign with top clubs like Chelsea, Barcelona, and Real Madrid during the summer transfer window.

The Brazilian striker is also being rumored with a move abroad during the January window. Recently, fellow Brazilian Roberto Carlos has said publicly that Anzhi are also showing a great interest.

Sergio Ramos Drops Copa Del Rey Trophy After Real Madrid Win

Real Madrid won the 2011 Copa Del Rey, so there was cause for celebration. The celebration turned sour when Madrid defender Sergio Ramos dropped the trophy by accident.

The result was that the trophy was crushed by the Real Madrid bus. Ramos should have received a red card for the incident.

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho made news by accusing UEFA and Barcelona of fixing the match between Real Madrid and Barca. UEFA responded by suspending Mourinho for his accusations.

The accusations were made during last season's Champions League match between the two Spanish giants in April. The result was a 2-0 victory by Barcelona.

Mourinho continued his personal fights against Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup, during which Mourinho poked Barca assistant coach Tito Villanova.

Mourinho later blamed Barca for what transpired in the Supercup.

The year 2011 draws to a close with these events forever etched in memory. The year 2012 is expected to be as exciting, or even more so than 2011.

I would like to thank the readers of Bleacher Report for their time in reading this slideshow of the year 2011 in world football.