World football's two most prestigious player of the year awards will merge into a single title called the Ballon d'Or from next year. Europe's existing Ballon d'Or and FIFA's World Player of the Year award will cease to exist as individual entities and the new award will be given for the first time in January. “From January of next year we will have one single trophy for the best player in the world,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Monday. The deal was announced by France Football magazine publisher Marie-Odile Amaury and Blatter, though no financial details of the initial four-year partnership were revealed. “We are very proud to be announcing this together with you,” Amaury told the FIFA president at a ceremony on the sidelines of the World Cup. France Football created its European Footballer of the Year award – the Ballon d'Or, or Golden Ball – in 1956 from a poll of European journalists. The award was later opened to players of any nationality playing in Europe, then to those from any club worldwide. FIFA's first presented its award in 1991. It is voted for by national team coaches and captains. The new award will be voted for by journalists, coaches and captains from FIFA's 208 national members. Blatter said FIFA's world player of the year award for women would continue under a new name yet to be determined. FIFA and France Football also will create new awards for the world's best coach and best technical director, and continue selecting a world's best starting lineup of 11 players. That honor was created in conjunction with FIFPro, the international umbrella group of players' unions. The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony scheduled Jan. 10 in FIFA's home city of Zurich. Five vie for Dunga's job The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has drawn up a list of five candidates to replace the sacked Dunga as Brazil coach it was reported by local media. Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari heads the list while the other hopefuls are Mano Menezes of Corinthians, Muricy Ramalho who coaches Fluminense, Ricardo Gomes of Sao Paulo and former AC Milan handler and 1994 World Cup winning player Leonardo. Scolari remains the favorite to be installed for a second time because according to sources within the CBF cited in the press the federation's president Ricardo Teixeira wants an experienced coach “who can withstand the pressure that comes with a World Cup Finals being hosted in Brazil (as they host the 2014 edition)”. Dunga, 46, said that he was intending to step down after four years following the five-time champion 2-1 defeat to Holland Friday. However, on his arrival home Sunday, Dunga did not rule out staying in the job. “I am going to rest before meeting the president of the CBF, Ricardo Teixeira.”
