Can I Not Be Anxious?

The World Professional Footballers' Association, or FIFPro for short, was probably an organization that even some veteran fans had never heard of. Yet it was a genuine international organization, with professional footballers' unions from forty-two member countries under its umbrella and nearly sixty thousand professional footballers registered as members.

Starting in 2005, FIFPro began selecting the Season's Best Player and Team of the Year. To set itself apart and highlight its own advantages, its selections differed from the European Golden Ball Award, World Footballer of the Year, and World Soccer's World Player of the Year.

Its selection method was somewhat similar to the English Professional Footballers' Association's Season's Best Player award. It sent every member a ballot and had them choose the player who had performed best during the previous season.

In other words, receiving this honor was essentially equivalent to earning the recognition of the vast majority of professional footballers around the world.

The award did not have a long history. It had been established in 2005, with the first two editions going to Barcelona's Ronaldinho, while the following two had both gone to Yang Yang.

The organization also seemed to have limited funds. Unlike FIFA, which could afford to hold a grand awards ceremony, it had been unable to host one with great fanfare. Nor could it cooperate with a television station like the European Golden Ball Award, or even hold a small ceremony like World Soccer.

Last year, it had simply mailed the trophy to Liverpool, asked the club to take a few pictures, and had them sent back for publication on its official website. That was considered the award ceremony—if anything, it was even more shabby than the ceremonies held by some newspapers.

This year, however, things seemed slightly better. FIFPro president Philippe Piat had personally