Undeserved names on FiFA's shortlist.....

Midweek already, wow!!! That's great, one more working day and it’s the weekend...do I sound so excited? Oh yeah because am looking forward to another controversial premiership weekend..hahahaha.. Don't mind me...am just chilling with friends another wonderful encounter between Chelsea and Manchester United as they battled for a place in the last eight of the capital one cup. Surprisingly the pre match argument was not about the two sides last Sunday encounter, the argument is on this year's 23-man shortlist for FIFA Ballon d'Or which was announced by FIFA and, as usual, there are more than a few surprises.

The fact is that Lionel Messi is the reigning winner and will once again be the favourite to lift the trophy along with Cristiano Ronaldo..(one out of two of them must win it).. This we all know but what i clearly don't understand is the nomination of few out of the other 21 players because we don't know whether all of them deserve to be recognised in this list.

Another thing we know is that with numerous domestic champions, African nations cup and the European championship, international performances plus countless matches to review, it is impossible to expect a perfect list.

Am looking at five surprising choices made by FIFA and will also try to look at potential alternatives to those choices.

1) Wayne Rooney - He did not win the league title with Manchester United, and his immature behaviour plus temper  forced him to miss the opening two games at the Euros...some of you might say Rooney was the most important player for the United team that took the title race to the last game of the season and scored a career-best 27 league goals and that If not for him, Man United would have been nowhere near the title and, honestly, what have guys like Robin van Persie and Zlatan Ibrahimovic done to warrant a spot that Rooney hasn't?

2) Mario Balotelli - Super Mario as some call him was not the best player for Manchester City or even their best striker. In the league he only finished tied for 10th in goals scored. He also did not have an unbelievable Euro campaign, even though he did finish tied for most goals in the tournament. His play was inconsistent and he only had one great game against Germany. So its fair to say he doesn't deserve to be in that list

3) Gerard Pique - Yes he has become an excellent defender since he left Manchester United to Barcelona four seasons ago but of all the players on the shortlist, Gerard Pique has to be one of the most undeserving. Since the start of this 2012, Pique has spent more time on the injury table than on the pitch and even when he played was rarely at his best. His international play doesn't even earn him a place, either. He wasn't that great at Euro 2012 and if not for Sergio Ramos's heroics and his team’s possession football he would have been exposed badly. Now if FiFA wanted defenders on that list then they would have included Real Madrid's Pepe who is far more deserving of a spot though he isn't my favourite but he has had a wonderful year both with his club and country. He helped Madrid reclaim la liga and he put in a master class during his country's summer expliots. Another defender that could have been there is Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini. He helped make The Old Lady one of the strongest and best defense in Europe and kept them unbeaten last season. He was part of the italian team that surprised many as they got to the Euro 2012 finals. He is truly a great defender and probably the best defender around at the moment

4) Didier Drogba - Oh I am a big fan, and it’s surprising he is the only representative from the champions of Europe. Yes Chelsea won the European Cup last season but they were so bad in the league and were not even that great en route to their European cup victory.

Didier Drogba may forever be defined by his clinching penalty in the Blues' Champions League win over Bayern Munich. But beyond that match where he also scored the equalizer, he was never Chelsea's best player and certainly not one of Europe's best players of last season. He is definitely the wrong choice. I think Juan Mata and Petr Cech were far more influential to their team's success in each competition. Drogba had the defining moments of the penalty shootout, but it was his keeper who was even more responsible for the win as he got a hand on all but one of Bayern's shots and was almost unbeatable during his last champions league matches.

Drogba has moved to China meaning that his candidacy ended almost six months ago because Chinese football is nowhere near the best. Don't get me wrong though, am not saying that Drogba shouldn't be here but the point is that, his one month of play is hard to weigh against 8-10 months of great play from other stars, but it was a really great month and also if any Chelsea player should be picked then it should be Cech for his goal keeping heroics

5) Neuer - not saying  Neuer shouldn't be on that list but FIFA has typically ignored the great feats made by teams in clubs outside of England and Spain's big two and this year was no different. Manuel Neuer is the only selection from German League. Not a single player from the German champions made the list. Neuer himself is an odd choice. He is arguably the best keeper in football at the moment, but didn't win a major title last season. Bayern Munich failed to win the Champions League or Bundesliga, and Germany bowed out in the semi-finals of the Euros but still, Neuer's talent was on display for everyone to see all season, and it seems his individual effort was enough to warrant a spot on this list.

However it is nice to see Bayern's No. 1 on the shortlist, but there are plenty of other players from the Bundesliga who could have replaced the likes of Gerard Pique and Didier Drogba and to some extent Wayne Rooney, Mario Balotelli or Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Other Potential replacements from the Bundesliga are Mario Gomez, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels. Less I forget when a team goes undefeated in one of Europe's major leagues; players get loads of accolades and recognition for accomplishing such a rare feat. That is why it was a bit surprising to see only two Juventus players on the shortlist.

Truth be told as we all know that Serie A may not be as competitive as it has been in the past, but last season Juventus were one of the greatest teams in Europe. Unfortunately they did not have a chance to prove it. It is safe to assume that Gigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo were taken for their national team play as their club play.

This is Just my own opinion, I would like to know yours...do u think the Fifa list shows this year's worthy champions???? Say something peeps!!!!... Capital one football...funny sponsor...