Andrés Iniesta wins UEFA's best player in Europe awardAugust 30, 2012 - 22:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Andrés Iniesta has been crowned European player of the year following a sparkling campaign for both Barcelona and Spain, thesportreview.com reported. The Spanish midfielder, who was named player of the tournament at this summer’s European championship as La Roja lifted the trophy in Poland and Ukraine, beat off stiff competition from 2011 winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Iniesta, 28, scored eight goals in 47 appearances for Barcelona last season as the Catalan club finished as runners-up to Real Madrid in the race for the Spanish league title. The award, which was introduced in 2011, was created in partnership with European Sports Media and is an initiative of Uefa president Michel Platini. The prize is voted for by a 53-man panel of journalists, one from each European football association. The winner was decided by a live vote at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, as the journalists selected one of the three short-listed nominees. Messi won the inaugural 2011 crown, claiming 39 votes – 28 more than his Barcelona team-mate Xavi. Ronaldo was third with three votes. Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |