For years, there were two top individual awards in soccer – the Ballon D’Or, which went to the best player competing in Europe, and the FIFA World Player of the Year Award. But recently, the two awards were merged to recognize the best footballer in the world. The 2010 award was given to FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, making him the first winner of the new award. But just as importantly, the honor goes a long way towards cementing the Argentinean’s legacy as one of the best players of his generation.

With Manchester City’s recent win over West Ham United, they reached first place in the Premiership, tied with Arsenal for top spot. Leading scorer Carlos Tevez sat out serving a suspension due to accumulation of yellow cards, but it was the perfect game to miss, as lowly West Ham have managed just two wins all season. The question is, how many more games will Tevez play for City? The top of the Premiership is hotly contested, with Manchester United and Chelsea both nipping at first place, just one and two points back, respectively. Internal turbulence is not welcome, and couldn't come at a wors time for Manchester City.

When FIFA awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively, the sports world was set on its ear. FIFA claims that the choices are part of the organization’s desire to move the game forward into the world, expanding beyond the traditional borders of soccer power – South America, Western Europe, and occasionally the USA. But for heavy hitting bidders like England and the U.S., the decisions don’t sit well.

FIFA World Cup 2010 from South Africa has officially wrapped up, and the tournament was a memorable one for several reasons. The beautiful game’s signature tournament made its first appearance on the continent of Africa, and although goals were hard to come by at first, the action picked up in the elimination rounds. In the end, Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to claim their first ever championship.

FIFA World Cup 2010 has provided amazing ups and downs for soccer fans in South Africa and around the world. The field of 32 countries has been whittled down to just two finalists – Spain and the Netherlands - who will battle for gold this weekend. Germany and Uruguay will compete for bronze in a consolation match.

Four South American teams entered the Round of 8 at FIFA World Cup 2010 from South Africa, but only one advanced to the semi-finals. Conversely, only three European teams were represented in the quarterfinals, the fewest in the history of soccer’s greatest tournament. But each of them found a way to overcome their overseas opponents, making for an exciting final four.

The odds-on favorites all did what they were expected to do on the final days of Round 2 at the FIFA World Cup of soccer from South Africa. European powers, Spain and the Netherlands, each advanced, while the ever dominant Brazil sent a message to its final eight counterparts with a lopsided win over Chile. Paraguay, on the other hand, barely squeaked past Japan on penalty kicks.

FIFA World CUP 2010 has hit the elimination stage, and the goals keep coming. Although this year’s tournament got off to a slow offensive start, the first two days of the knock out stage featured high-powered soccer action as Gemany, Argentina, and Uruguay all advanced, while the USA’s tournament was ended by Africa’s lone remaining representative, Ghana.

32 teams entered FIFA World Cup 2010. Now there are 16. With group play wrapping up Friday, half of this year’s hopefuls have officially been sent packing, including some big surprises in the way of last tournament’s champions and runners-up – Italy and France, respectively. Now there are no more do-overs. It’s win or go home in the remaining soccer matches to be played in the world’s most watched tournament.

The 2006 defending champions have failed to make it beyond the group stage. Italy joined France as the other European soccer superpower to make an embarrassingly early exit from FIFA World Cup 2010 this week after losing 3-2 to Slovakia in group play.

Portugal put on the most dominant performance of the tournament, while Spain and South Africa got themselves on track at FIFA World Cup 2010 during play on Days 11 and 12. France meanwhile, continued their dismal play and have become Europe’s biggest soccer loser in this tournament.

After a few days of drama and shocking upsets at FIFA World Cup 2010, the second weekend of the world’s greatest soccer tournament went much more as expected in terms of results. However, the trend of European soccer super powers coming up short continued when Italy failed to defeat New Zealand. However, their E.U. counterparts in Denmark and Holland found more success.

Algeria shocked England by holding them to a 0-0 drawArgentina put up a huge win on Day 7 of the FIFA World Cup 2010, but the big story as the week closed was the shocking failure of some European soccer superpowers. France and Germany each suffered upset losses, while England played to a draw against huge underdog Algeria. England is still looking for their first win in this dramatic tournament.

Argentina opened Day 7 with a 4-1 shellacking of South Korea. Gonzalo Higuain played hero for the Argentineans, draining a hat trick that has all but guaranteed his side a spot in the next round. Superstar Lionel Messi was in the mix for Argentina, making key plays on three of his team’s goals.

Algeria shocked England by holding them to a 0-0 drawArgentina put up a huge win on Day 7 of the FIFA World Cup 2010, but the big story as the week closed was the shocking failure of some European soccer superpowers. France and Germany each suffered upset losses, while England played to a draw against huge underdog Algeria. England is still looking for their first win in this dramatic tournament.

Argentina opened Day 7 with a 4-1 shellacking of South Korea. Gonzalo Higuain played hero for the Argentineans, draining a hat trick that has all but guaranteed his side a spot in the next round. Superstar Lionel Messi was in the mix for Argentina, making key plays on three of his team’s goals.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 had its first real upset on Wednesday when Switzerland shocked Spain 1-0 in group play. The Swiss were an underdog to advance beyond group play, while Spain was the favorite in Group H, which also includes Chile and Honduras.