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The World Cup's leading scorers, Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands and Spain's David Villa, with five goals each, are among ten footballers shortlisted for the 2010 FIFA World Cup adidas Golden Ball.
FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke and adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer officially announced the 10 nominees for the prestigious award on Friday.
The adidas Golden Ball is the official FIFA trophy for the 'Best Player of the Tournament'. The ten nominated players were selected by the FIFA Technical Study Group and includes football experts such as Kalusha Bwalya, Christian Karembeu, Jomo Sono and Gérard Houllier.
The nominees:
Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Mesut Oezil (Germany)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
David Villa (Spain)
Xavi (Spain)
Accredited media representatives will vote to determine the winners of the adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze ball awards on FIFA.com. The winners will be announced after the final between Spain and the Netherlands on 11 July.
adidas Golden Ball past winners:
1982 FIFA World Cup Spain: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico: Diego Maradona (Argentina)
1990 FIFA World Cup Italy: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
1994 FIFA World Cup USA: Romario (Brazil)
1998 FIFA World Cup France: Ronaldo (Brazil
2002 FIFA World Cup Korea / Japan: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: Zinedine Zidane (France)