DEBATE: The winners of the World Cup, Champions
League and La Liga will battle it out for the prize and we want you to
tell us which man deserves to be crowned as No.1
Of course, the three men in question will state that team trophies are of greatest importance, but every man seeks to be respected by his peers, and all would surely love to be handed the prize on January 12.
A fan of the underdog? Then perhaps Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone is the man for you after winning La Liga against the odds. If you were inspired by Germany's World Cup success then Joachim Low will be your pick. Or is lifting the Champions League the true stamp of success? In that case Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid could come out on top.
We've argued a case for all three below. Have a read and don't forget to register your vote at the bottom of the page!
The biggest compliment paid to Diego Simeone in 2014 wasn't his inclusion on a list of three nominees for World Coach of the Year, but in Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's decision to acquire three of his Atletico Madrid players over the summer.
After defeating the Portuguese in his favourite game of Champions League chess over two legs of tactical attrition in last April's Champions League semi-finals, the Blues boss acknowledged many of the same qualities in Simeone and his players that have been the bedrock of his own success.
Diego Costa and Filipe Luis were duly lured away from the Vicente Calderon, while Thibaut Courtois was recalled to Stamford Bridge after three seasons on loan with the champions of Spain.
Much like Mourinho, Simeone's tactical nous and the discipline instilled within his players was key not only to reaching the Champions League final, where Atleti came within a minute of beating Real Madrid and winning the trophy, but also breaking their city rivals' and Barcelona's 10-year stranglehold over La Liga.
The Argentine and his players put on yet another show of solidarity to secure a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou on the final day of the Spanish season to claim a first league title since 1996, a feat all the more impressive given the disparity in budget between the country's top three sides and the sale of Radamel Falcao to Monaco the previous summer. There has been no sign of complacency, either, at the midway point in 2014-15. Simeone's side are into the last 16 of the Champions League, where they will face Bayer Leverkusen, and remain on the coat tails of Madrid in the Primera Division – a sure-fire sign trophies haven't eroded his ambition one bit. All of which makes him the outstanding candidate to be crowned World Coach of the Year.
By Chris Myson
Carlo Ancelotti was the world's most successful boss in 2014 and it is only natural that he should be rewarded with the Coach of the Year award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich.
The Italian does have world-class players to work with, but that
should not detract from his accomplishments over the past 12 months.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris
Saint-Germain also possess rosters dripping with top-level talent, but
they were left in their wake by Carletto and Co.
In 2014 Real Madrid finally achieved La Decima, ending a 12-year
wait for European glory with a thrilling Champions League victory. They
also won the Copa del Rey, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup.
With all that Madrid have achieved, it is easy to forget that
Ancelotti inherited a side that was in complete disarray. Jose Mourinho
had departed after his worst coaching season, the club had failed to win
a major trophy after finishing a massive 15 points behind Barcelona,
and the dressing room was divided.
Ancelotti had an immediate calming effect, resolving issues such as
Iker Casillas' exclusion from the first team and getting the best out
of under-performing players like Pepe, Marcelo and Karim Benzema.
The successful incorporation of €100 million signing Gareth Bale
into a team that already included Cristiano Ronaldo may now be taken for
granted, but was an issue that initially caused huge debate with
regards to team tactics and morale.
In 2014-15, Madrid have continued to entertain and only recently
saw a club-record run of 22 straight victories come to an end. The
55-year-old has impressively re-built his team after losing Xabi Alonso
and Angel Di Maria – two players who were integral to last season's
triumphs.
Ancelotti has proven to be the best in the world at managing big
personalities and it is hard to see how he can be beaten to the coaching
award.
By Joe Wright
By Joe Wright
Vicente del Bosque remains the only national team boss to win Fifa's Coach of the Year prize, having lifted it in 2012. It would be a crime if Joachim Low doesn't become the second.
Germany's World Cup win in Argentina, though delivered by the €2m boot of Mario Gotze in the most dramatic of closing minutes in Rio, was eight and a half years in the making for Low. Third place at South Africa was followed by a semi-final defeat at Euro 2012 after Germany had set a new record for consecutive wins in competitive games.
In 2014, they were the overwhelming favourites outside of South America, and the fans at home had grown impatient after 24 years of near-misses - only Brazil themselves faced greater pressure to succeed. Unlike counterpart Luiz Felipe Scolari, Low handled it.
A thrashing of Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal got their campaign off to a flyer, before they stuck a pin in France's growing confidence and annihilated the hosts in the last four. Their final triumph over Argentina was fully deserved, even though it was less resounding.
Germany were the only team to play consistently well throughout the finals, from Ballon d'Or nominee Manuel Neuer right through to goalscoring heroes Gotze and Thomas Muller. Low had guided these players into the senior national set-up over the years, and they all performed for him when it mattered most in a system he tailored to bring out their best.
Ancelotti and Simeone both lifted trophies in 2014 but also had to swallow the bitter taste of failure. Low was unerring in his one shot at glory as he lifted the greatest prize in the game; that he should now be acknowledged as the best coach of the past year is only right.
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