FIFA Ballon D'Or Award Ceremony 2015: Takeaways from Zurich Gala
FIFA crowned the best of world football in 2015 at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich.
The most anticipated award of the night went to FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who was named the world's best male player for a fifth time, beating out Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. Meanwhile, Carli Lloyd won the women's award after leading the United States to the FIFA Women's World Cup title last summer.
Here, Bleacher Report selects key takeaways from the ceremony.
Full List of Award Winners
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FIFPro World XI: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany); Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain), Dani Alves (Barcelona, Brazil); Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain), Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia), Paul Pogba (Juventus, France); Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Neymar (Barcelona, Brazil)
FIFA World Coach of the Year (Men's): Luis Enrique (Barcelona)
World Coach of the Year (Women's): Jill Ellis (USA)
FIFA Fair Play Award: All football clubs supporting refugees
Puskas Award: Wendell Lira (formerly of Goianesia)
Women's World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd (USA)
Ballon d'Or: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi, Luis Enrique and FC Barcelona
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Barcelona claimed a spectacular treble to end the 2014-15 club season, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. In December, the Catalan side lifted the FIFA Club World Cup, claiming yet another piece of silverware at the end of a magical year.
To almost nobody's surprise, manager Luis Enrique claimed the FIFA Men's World Coach of the Year award on Monday night, and Lionel Messi earned his fifth Ballon d'Or/FIFA World Player of the Year.
For Messi, it was further confirmation that he ranks among the world's greatest of all time.
"The FIFA #BallondOr 2015 winner is the greatest footballer ever to play the game," tweeted retired footballer Gary Lineker.
Meanwhile, it was confirmation of another sort for Barcelona. The previous 12 months were incredible for the Blaugrana, even by the club's high standards. Monday night only underlined it.
Besides the awards won by Messi and Enrique, Barca also had another of the finalists in Neymar, and placed four players in the FIFPro World XI (Messi, Neymar, Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta).
In 2015, Barcelona were the class of club football.
United States Women's National Team
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Much like FC Barcelona, the United States women's national team had a great year in 2015. After making a ponderous start to the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Americans improved with every game and won the title with an impressive 5-2 victory over defending champs Japan.
Carli Lloyd hit a 16-minute hat-trick in the final, scored six goals in the tournament and deservedly garnered recognition as the Cup's best overall player. Coach Jill Ellis did her part as well, constructing a rock-solid back line and eventually solving a midfield issue that at one point had threatened to derail the team's chances.
It was little surprise, then, that Lloyd and Ellis swept the individual awards on the women's side.
"I honestly wouldn't be standing up here without my incredible team. We all know it took 23 players to win the World Cup," Lloyd said, per USA Today.
Premier League
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Proponents of the Premier League celebrate it as the world's best, but the Ballon d'Or ceremony laid waste to that idea once again.
Although one could make the argument the Premier League is the world's most exciting football competition, the data just don't support that claim. The FIFPro World XI contained zero Premier League footballers. Same for the shortlist of Ballon d'Or finalists. Same again with the Coach of the Year nominees.
Granted, some of those lists were open to debate, particularly the FIFPro XI, which really should have found room—some way, somehow—for Luis Suarez. But even with a few adjustments here or there, England's top flight still wouldn't dominate the awards the way you'd expect from the world's best league.
La Liga
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So is La Liga the best league in the world? That debate will rage on, but Spain's top division dominated the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Of course, every bit of that domination had to do with two teams—Barcelona and Real Madrid, who put four players each in the FIFPro World XI and boasted all three of the Ballon d'Or finalists.
Maybe it's true that La Liga is unbalanced at the top, but Barca and Real are flying the flag brilliantly for Spain.
Wendell Lira
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Probably the only surprise of the night came with the announcement of the FIFA Puskas Award.
Lionel Messi was the odds-on favorite for his mesmerizing run and goal against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. But Wendell Lira took home the hardware for this strike, an acrobatic turn and overhead volley for Goianesia in Brazil's Goiano.
If you had to look up the name Wendell Lira on Wikipedia just now, you're not the only one. But that just makes this award all the more heartwarming. While Messi's goal was amazing, it's nice to see a comparatively unknown player claim a major award for a goal that—let's be honest—was just as worthy.
For Messi, it would have been just another award. For Lira, it was obviously a moment he'll never forget.
Bold Fashion Statements
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As is the case with most awards ceremonies, most of the honorees dressed rather conservatively. Nothing is wrong with that, but players like Neymar and Paul Pogba added a bit of spice to the proceedings with their fashion choices.
Neymar, decked out in a two-tone tuxedo-and-vest combination, completed his unique look with a matching hat. Like the player, it was bold, different and refreshingly not-too-serious. The outfit matched his personality, as evidenced by the quote Neymar gave after asking if the flight home with Lionel Messi would be awkward following the ceremony.
"If we win, we'll party," Neymar said, per Diario AS. "If we don't, we'll party."
Also attracting attention was Juventus midfielder Pogba. The Frenchman earned a spot on the FIFPro World XI team and turned heads with a bold tuxedo that matched his distinctive hairstyle.
"If there was a best dressed award at the #BallonDor then Paul Pogba would've probably won it," tweeted ESPN UK.
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