Ballon D'Or, Buffon left out

By Football Italia staff

FIFA's list of candidates for the Ballon D'Or 2015 includes Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Pirlo, but omits goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The ceremony will take place on January 11 next year, and will reward a player from a set list of 59 candidates.

Chiellini and Pirlo are the only Italians to make the list, on the back of their strong Champions League campaign last year.

Perhaps surprisingly, Buffon was not included in the list, prompting several unhappy responses in Italy.

Today's Gazzetta dello Sport titled the front page 'Buffoonery', a term which World Cup-winning Coach Marcello Lippi echoed.

“I don't want to offend anyone, but I too think it's buffoonery that he shouldn't be among the 59,” he said, as reported by Calciomercato.it.

“I don't understand FIFA and I don't know their criteria, but Buffon is – no, I won't even give a technical opinion.

“The whole world knows his worth and what he did in 2015.”

Other Serie A or former Serie A players also appear in the list, namely Inter's Gary Medel and Juventus' Paul Pogba, Alvaro Morata, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal.

Watch Serie A live in the UK on Premier Sports for just £9.99 per month including live LaLiga, Eredivisie, Scottish Cup Football and more. Visit: https://www.premiersports.com/subscribenow