US World Cup winner Carli Lloyd gets FIFA world player award

Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the fifth time.

“I want to thank Jill [Ellis] the coaching staff and all of our support staff. I wouldn’t be standing up here if it wasn’t for my teammates”.

Carli Lloyd became the third American to win FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. Each ballot allowed the coaches and captains to name their top three players, with a first-place nomination worth five points, and positions two and three rewarded with three points and one point, respectively.

Lloyd was selected over finalists Aya Miyama of Japan and Celia Sasic of Germany at a ceremony in Zurich.

Lloyd received 35.3 percent of the votes for the award, followed by Sasic with 12.6 percent and Miyama with 9.8 percent.

The 33-year-old from New Jersey was named a co-captain of the US team on Saturday along with defender Becky Sauerbrunn.

Lloyd scored 10 worldwide goals during the calendar year as she earned the Golden Ball in Canada and finished second to Ballon d’Or rival Celia Sasic to the Golden Boot, but triumphed on Monday.

Lloyd’s 13-minute hat trick in the final – including a shot from the halfway line in the 5-2 rout of Japan – saw US secure their third title in Canada. To James, we started this journey 13 years ago and you told me I could become the best player in the world. She also assisted on the clinching goal in the 2-0 semifinal victory against Germany, setting up Kelley O’Hara. No other woman had ever scored a hat trick in the final. “We all know it took 23 players to win the World Cup”, she said and thanked U.S. Soccer, its president Sunil Gulati and coach Jill Ellis.