Vivianne Miedema, from the city of Hoogeveen in the province of Drenthe, achieved fifth place in the election of best football stars in the world
By Hans de Preter
Aside from Miedema, Megan Rapinoe from America was awarded the top prize, Lucy Bronze from Britain finished in second place and Alex Morgan from America in third. Both Rapinoe and Morgan were part of the all-conquering US National team, which won this summer’s World Cup.
Vivianne Miedema is in ‘top form’ at the moment, which she showed last Sunday when she played exceptionally for Arsenal. The striker scored no less than six times in the competition duel with Bristol City and also delivered four assists, with Arsenal winning 11-1.
The winner of the Ballon D’Or, Megan Rapinoe, was chosen by a jury of journalists in collaboration with the French magazine France Football. Rapinoe was also named the best football player in the world by FIFA in September.
In addition to the Hoogeveense Miedema, the Dutch players Sari van Veenendaal and Lieke Martens were also among the nominees for the Golden Ball.
Messi
Among the men, Lionel Messi became the winner for the sixth time. The Argentinian attacker of FC Barcelona, among others, beat Virgil van Dijk (a former FC Groningen player) and captain of the Dutch national team, and his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi’s sixth Ballon D’Or means he is now the most decorated player in footballing history.
