Four semifinal fails in the past five iterations of the competition prove their nearly-there-but-not-quite status

Argentinian Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the second successive year, beating his more favoured Barcelona team-mates Iniesta and Xavi

Slowly but surely, South African midfielder Steven Pienaar is recapturing the form that made him one of the most sought-after players in Europe in his early 20s. Pienaar is now a…