Nigerians Iced Out By Uefa

 Fourty players has been nominated by Uefa for the team of the year with no Nigerian considered. Ivory coast/Manchester city ace, Yaya Toure and Morocco/Bayern Munich star Mehdi Benatia are the only two Africans shortlisted by Uefa.

Bayern Munich of Germany lead the way with nine players, followed by Real Madrid with eight, Athletico Madrid has four, Juventus, Barcelona and Manchester city has three each.

Through a poll conducted on Uefa's website, fans can cast their votes for the players who has impressed them the most in 2014.

Below is the complete list of nominees

Goalkeepers: Beto (Sevilla), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

Defenders: David Alaba, Medhi Benatia, Jerome Boateng (all Bayern), Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid), Ezequiel Garay (Zenit), Diego Godín (Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Miranda (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Bayern Munich), Arda Turan (Atletico Madrid), Angel di Maria (Manchester United), James Rodríguez (Real Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Yaya  Toure (Manchester City)

Forwards: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Diego Costa (Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Jonatan Soriano (Red Bull Salzburg), Carlos Tevez (Juventus).


Voting will close on january 6-more than 1 million votes were cast in the first six hours- and the team will be announced shortly after at the start of the new year.