Xavi, Messi and Iniesta FIFA Ballon D'or Finalists: Who Will Take It?

It's all Barcelona. FIFA and France Football announced earlier today that this year's three Ballon d'Or finalists are Xavi Hernandez, Andrés Iniesta and last year's winner Lionel Messi. The decision comes as no surprise, as the three Barcelona geniuses have been the three best players in the world over the past few seasons, having led their club and country (in Xavi and Iniesta's case) to every possible trophy.

But now comes the most difficult part: who among the Barcelona golden trio deserves the award the most?

On the one hand, Messi had the best season of his career so far in 2009/2010, scoring a disbelieving 47 goals. Besides, he has already scored 25 goals so far this season, in only 20 matches. He also had a decent World Cup, where he was one of the 10 finalists for the Player of the Tournament to award, although it was a disappointing showing by Messi's standards.

Then we have Xavi and Iniesta, who are arguably as important for Barcelona's success as Messi. The two led Spain to the World Cup title in South Africa, with Xavi pulling the strings and Iniesta scoring the winning goal in the final. If tradition means anything, the award will go to one of them; since 1982, the award has always gone to the hands of a World Cup winner, which in this case would mean Xavi or Iniesta.

In fact, it seems logical that the award goes to one of them. Lionel Messi is only 23 and there's no doubt that, should he remain healthy, he'll have little trouble collecting some more Golden Balls in the future. He has already won last year, and narrowly lost in 2008 to Cristiano Ronaldo, due to an injury that sidelined him for two months.

But the 2011 Golden Ball will probably be his and, at 23 years old, the Argentine genius has more than enough time to build a Golden Ball collection.

The same can't be said about Xavi and Iniesta, though. This might be a unique opportunity for them. The reason: Messi. Last year was a great example of this; both Xavi and Iniesta had fantastic seasons, but they were "unlucky" to have a once-in-a-generarion player like Messi as a teammate. Lionel Messi took the award home, with Xavi coming third and Iniesta fourth in the vote.

This year, though, Xavi and Iniesta have an excellent opportunity, since they won the World Cup with Spain. Messi had an otherwordly season, but he did not win the World Cup with Argentina (nor did he perform according to his standards), hence why he should not be given the award this year.

So, we're down to Xavi and Iniesta, which makes the decision even more difficult. The two form the best midfield duo in the world and are the heartbeat of the strongest club side and national team over the past few years. 

Iniesta's clutch goal in the World Cup final might give him an edge, but Xavi was far more consistent throughout the season. In fact, Iniesta was sidelined for a significant part of the 2009/2010 season, missing the last few months of the club season.

He got back in full form for the World Cup, but this award should be for consistency and that means Xavi. Besides, Xavi is already 30 years old and, much to the dismay of Barcelona and football fans in general, he is not getting any younger. He has been at the top for some years now and definitely deserves this award for his absolutely brilliant career.

Iniesta is only 26 and still has a lot more years ahead of him. Even with Messi as a teammate, he will still have plenty of chances to contend for this award. Besides, if we put aside the World Cup, his season wasn't nearly as brilliant as 2008/2009 and not nearly as consistent as Xavi's.

All things considered, Xavi seems to be the most worthy recipient of this year's award. But then again, the award would look great on Iniesta too. And what if the winner has been a World Cup winner since 1982? If there's a player who can break such long tradition, it's Lionel Messi.

This award is basically a recognition of an entire football philosophy, Johan Cruyff's philosophy, Barcelona's football philosophy! For the second straight year, the Golden Ball will go to a Barcelona youth product (the whole podium this time).

Above all, these nominations are a testament to the Barcelona football academy (hands down the best in the world at the moment) as three La Masia graduates will battle it out for the most coveted individual prize in World Football.

Which member of the Barcelona Holy Trinity will take it? La Pulga, El Maestro or El Ilusionista?