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World Player of the Week: Bafetimbi Gomis - Lyon
Join Goal.com in saluting another player worthy of global recognition
12 Dec 2011 12:44:00
Panoramic
Welcome to Goal.com's regular feature: Goal.com World Player of the Week. Each week our worldwide team of editors will put forward a selected candidate, as chosen by Goal.com International, who deserves recognition for achieving something special that matchday. It won't necessarily be the best player in the world - at least not usually - but whoever we nominate will have accomplished something amazing. It might be for a particularly awesome performance or for something praiseworthy off the pitch - either way, the person in question deserves special attention...
Goal.com World Player of the Week #134: Bafetimbi Gomis
Club: Lyon
Country: France
Age: 26
Role: Forward
Achievement: Scored four goals in his side's away victory over Dinamo Zagreb
Scoring a hat-trick in a Champions League game is one thing, scoring a hat-trick in a decisive match when your team’s requirement to win is imperative is quite another.
And so is Bafetimbi Gomis’ feat of finding the target no fewer than four times against Dinamo Zagreb in Lyon's final Champions League Group D fixture that saw the French giants through to the last 16.
Lyon headed into the game in Croatia knowing that they needed a heavy victory to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stage of Europe’s premier club competition, and they did just that.
The French powerhouse defeated Dinamo 7-1 with Gomis scoring the fastest ever hat-trick in the Champions League in a seven-minute spell, two of which came in the second half.
Much had to do with the fact that Dinamo were playing with 10 men and there have been murmurs of wrongdoings since, but Gomis’ achievement cannot and should not be overshadowed.
Congratulations to Bafetimbi Gomis, Goal.com's 134th World Player of the Week!
Honourable mentions
Sunil Chhetri - India
India international forward Sunil Chhetri played a vital part in his country’s SAFF Championship triumph scoring in each and every game, and was on target in their 4-0 victory over Afghanistan in the final. Chhetri netted a total of seven goals, a record for the competition, and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Christian Clemens - Koln
Koln got the better of Freiburg 4-0 at home in the Bundesliga at the weekend and Christian Clemens was a key figure in that triumph, as he found the target twice - one directly from the corner.
Bas Dost - Heerenveen
Heerenveen striker Bas Dost scored all of his side's five goals in their 5-0 away win against Excelsior in the Eredivisie on Saturday. He scored thrice with his head and twice with his right foot.
Didier Drogba - Chelsea
Chelsea needed a victory against Valencia at home in their final Champions League Group E game in midweek and they got it, thanks mainly to Didier Drogba. The striker was all over Los Che’s midfield and defence with his physical presence, hard work and intelligence, scoring two goals and creating one in the Blues’ 3-0 win that sealed qualification to the last 16.
Miroslav Klose - Lazio
Miroslav Klose has been in excellent form for Lazio this season and he continued his streak this weekend against Lecce in an away Serie A clash. The German striker was involved in all of his side’s three goals in their 3-2 win, scoring the first and the third one and played a crucial part in the second.
Carles Puyol - Barcelona
Carles Puyol was arguably the most impressive performer in the Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, as he stood strong at the back in the Blaugrana’s 3-1 victory. The Spain international centre-back kept out Angel Di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo among others, led by example and was rock solid in defence.
Franco Vazquez - Belgrano
'El Mudo' was captain in his last ever game for his boyhood team before he moves to Palermo, and scored a lovely goal in their 1-0 victory over Arsenal, bursting into tears on the pitch afterwards as he said goodbye to the fans.
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Goal.com World Player of the Week #134: Bafetimbi Gomis
Club: Lyon
Country: France
Age: 26
Role: Forward
Achievement: Scored four goals in his side's away victory over Dinamo Zagreb
Scoring a hat-trick in a Champions League game is one thing, scoring a hat-trick in a decisive match when your team’s requirement to win is imperative is quite another.
And so is Bafetimbi Gomis’ feat of finding the target no fewer than four times against Dinamo Zagreb in Lyon's final Champions League Group D fixture that saw the French giants through to the last 16.
Lyon headed into the game in Croatia knowing that they needed a heavy victory to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stage of Europe’s premier club competition, and they did just that.
The French powerhouse defeated Dinamo 7-1 with Gomis scoring the fastest ever hat-trick in the Champions League in a seven-minute spell, two of which came in the second half.
Much had to do with the fact that Dinamo were playing with 10 men and there have been murmurs of wrongdoings since, but Gomis’ achievement cannot and should not be overshadowed.
Congratulations to Bafetimbi Gomis, Goal.com's 134th World Player of the Week!
Honourable mentions
Sunil Chhetri - India
India international forward Sunil Chhetri played a vital part in his country’s SAFF Championship triumph scoring in each and every game, and was on target in their 4-0 victory over Afghanistan in the final. Chhetri netted a total of seven goals, a record for the competition, and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Christian Clemens - Koln
Koln got the better of Freiburg 4-0 at home in the Bundesliga at the weekend and Christian Clemens was a key figure in that triumph, as he found the target twice - one directly from the corner.
Bas Dost - Heerenveen
Heerenveen striker Bas Dost scored all of his side's five goals in their 5-0 away win against Excelsior in the Eredivisie on Saturday. He scored thrice with his head and twice with his right foot.
Didier Drogba - Chelsea
Chelsea needed a victory against Valencia at home in their final Champions League Group E game in midweek and they got it, thanks mainly to Didier Drogba. The striker was all over Los Che’s midfield and defence with his physical presence, hard work and intelligence, scoring two goals and creating one in the Blues’ 3-0 win that sealed qualification to the last 16.
Miroslav Klose - Lazio
Miroslav Klose has been in excellent form for Lazio this season and he continued his streak this weekend against Lecce in an away Serie A clash. The German striker was involved in all of his side’s three goals in their 3-2 win, scoring the first and the third one and played a crucial part in the second.
Carles Puyol - Barcelona
Carles Puyol was arguably the most impressive performer in the Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, as he stood strong at the back in the Blaugrana’s 3-1 victory. The Spain international centre-back kept out Angel Di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo among others, led by example and was rock solid in defence.
Franco Vazquez - Belgrano
'El Mudo' was captain in his last ever game for his boyhood team before he moves to Palermo, and scored a lovely goal in their 1-0 victory over Arsenal, bursting into tears on the pitch afterwards as he said goodbye to the fans.
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
19:32 BST
We're getting plenty of people saying it was boring. PLENTY. But Spain scored seven goals in eight games at the World Cup and I didn't hear too many of their fans complaining. Or as Fran Stinchcombe points out on Twitter: "If we had lost but played free flowing attacking football would these people still have moaned?"
19:24 BST
No, no, no. I'll have none of that Emile Heskey shouting anymore! Hello, it's me, it's me, it's that D-O-Y-L-E. Yes, I'm Joe Doyle, and I'll be here for all the reaction to that England game. First things first, how did everyone see that game? Good performance? A touch boring? Let me know on Twitter.
19:17 BST
Right, that’s me, Danny Hart, done. Joe Doyle is itching to retain his LIVE! crown for the evening. England reaction, Netherlands-Northern Ireland updates and much, much more - Doyle will be across it all. England are gonna win the Euros! And remember: EMILE HESKEY. Cheerio!
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