'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwX/2gAIAQEAAAAAuL//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAECEAAAAH//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAEDEAAAAB//xAAgEAABAwQCAwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMEAAUHEhEiBhXS/9oACAEBAAE/AMy5BgWqEHjKs3EZqs+zI45o0Gnck7DwW1BkGzSAF8rLI2cTdeXG/iv/xAAYEQACAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgEDEv/aAAgBAgEBPwClI0x//8QAGBEBAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgABAxH/2gAIAQMBAT8A3dknk//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The year 2014 was one that football fans would find hard to forget. A year that can definitely be called a football extravaganza, as the world enjoyed the FIFA World Cup in addition to all the regular football action.With the Oscars having just been concluded, we saw some of the best work in Hollywood of the previous year reap the fruits of their hard work. With that in mind, we present to you the Football Oscars for the year 2014.Disclaimer: Performances have been considered for the year 2014, across all competitions.
#9 Best Dialogues - Jose Mourinho
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been in the news of late, having had a lot of grievances, against refereeing decisions. The Portuguese manager has gone on to suggest that there exists a conspiracy against Chelsea.
On his return to the club, he had called himself the Happy One, but going by how he is losing his head every other week, the Happy One is long gone. And thank God for that! The man is a genius when it comes to mind games and creating a siege mentality, and manipulating the media.
His press conferences make for great viewing also more often than not, thoroughly entertaining.
#8 Best Kit (Costume design) - Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa
There was only one winner possible here, and they were Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, the Spanish club who designed what could be called the most formal football kit ever.
Their kit has been inspired by a tuxedo, and also consists of subtle variations where the home and away kit are designed in the same manner – one with a bow-tie while the other has a normal tie!
A football jersey designed to work as a shirt one can wear on formal occasions. It won’t surprise us at all if they came to the ceremony dressed in their kit to receive their award. After all, it has been designed that way!
#7 Best Celebration - Colombia
The Colombian football team were a team that everyone was looking forward to witness at the global stage, and they definitely didn’t disappoint. Their refreshing style of play, and ability to hold their nerve served them well and saw them reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Another aspect of their game that was loved by fans worldwide was the manner in which they celebrated their goals, full of energy and joy. Most of their goal celebrations were very elaborate, and well-choreographed sequences, that saw them enjoying the moment, and putting on a show for the spectators.
#6 Best Fans (Supporting cast) - Borussia Dortmund
The Borussia Dortmund fans are known to be some of the most passionate fans around, and they ensure that the turn the WestfalenStadion into a fortress full of Yellow and Black, the colours of the club.
They have supported the club through thick and thin, and have shown that they are ready to stand behind their team in any situation.
This Bundesliga season has been quite difficult for the club, and despite their disappointment and anger at the results, the fans never turned on their players, instead willed them on to perform better. The fact that Dortmund are now on a run of three successive wins is in some part down to them and their incredible support.
#5 Best Goal - James Rodriguez
There are goals when there’s nothing much one can do than stand and applaud. James Rodriguez’s goal against Uruguay for Colombia was one such goal, and naturally, it gets the Oscar for best Goal of the Year.
The beauty of the goal lay in its execution, the composure with which Rodriguez chested the ball and then unleashed a venomous volley that bounced off the underside of the crossbar and went into the goal.
The fact that it came in the Round of 16 of the World Cup, and against a top side like Uruguay, adds more value to the goal.
#4 Best Individual Performance in a match - Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi takes home the Oscar for the best individual performance thanks to his hat-trick for Barcelona against Real Madrid in the El Clasico.
In a match that swung from end-to-end, Messi proved to be the differentiating factor, as he scored three out of four goals for the Catalans, as they clinched a 4-3 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu over their arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Messi was involved in all four goals, assisting Iniesta for the first, scoring the second, and then converting the penalties for the third and fourth goals after Neymar and Iniesta respectively were fouled.
The game featured some of the finest football seen in the Spanish season and saw Messi come out as the decisive factor.
#3 Best Coach - Diego Simeone
The Oscar for the best coach goes to Diego Simeone, and deservedly so. The Argentine coach broke the hegemony of Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga, and that was definitely an achievement that took a lot of hard-work.
Couple with that the fact that Atletico Madrid reached the finals of the UEFA Champions League and lost out to Real Madrid only in extra time, and the decision to award Simeone the Oscar becomes a no-brainer.
He moulded the team in his personality and built their success on defensive solidity, staying calm under pressure, and being clinical when it came to taking their chances.
#2 Best Player - Cristiano Ronaldo
Yes, as was expected, the award for the best player of the year 2014 goes to Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite not having a great World Cup, the Portuguese international was instrumental in his team’s double winning season, as Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Ronaldo had a landmark year, as he scored 61 goals and gave 22 assists in 60 appearances for both club and country combined. His only regret in the entire year was Portugal’s dismal showing at the World Cup, where he was not at his best due to injury, and the team failed to progress beyond the group stages.
The fact that he also won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the year 2014, added to his credentials for the best Player Oscar.
#1 Best Team - Germany
The Oscar for the best Team of the Year goes to FIFA World Cup champions Germany, who secured their fourth World Cup title with their win in Brazil.
The Germans, who are one of the most consistent teams in World Cup history, completed one of the most heart-warming stories in football with their triumph, as it justified their decision to revamp their entire football structure over the course of the last decade.
The fact that this triumph came despite the fact that the team did not really have any genuine superstars makes it an even better accomplishment, and one that truly deserves recognition.
