World Player of the Week: Mathieu Valbuena - Olympique de Marseille

Join Goal.com in saluting another player worthy of global recognition

Champions League: Borussia Dortmund - Olympique Marseille, Mathieu Valbuena
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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 #136: Mathieu Valbuena
Club: Olympique de Marseille
Country: France
Age:
27
Role:
Midfielder
Achievement:
Inspired Marseille to victory over Nancy

Olympique de Marseille midfielder Mathieu Valbuena had a poor autumn but he regained a fresh breath of life when he scored the winning goal against Borussia Dortmund in their 3-2 away win in the Champions League in the first week of December that saw them progress to the last 16.

Since then, the 27-year-old has looked good and inspired Marseille to a similar comeback against Lorient last weekend, scoring the equaliser with five minutes to go and then setting up the winner in stoppage time in their 2-1 victory.

Then, on Tuesday, Valbuena scored again, this time against Nancy, and grabbed an assist in the 3-1 victory that saw Marseille continue with their improved form.

Congratulations to Mathieu Valbuena
, Goal.com's 136th World Player of the Week!
 

Honourable Mentions

Edgar Prib - Greuther Furth

Edgar Prib scored the decisive goal for Greuther Furth in their 1-0 victory over Nurnberg in the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal. His goal on 15 minutes saw the second division side qualify for the quarter-finals of the German Cup.

Jose Callejon - Real Madrid

Jose Callejon has emerged as one of the best utility players for Real Madrid this season and he was crucial for Los Blancos over the past week. The Spanish forward scored against Sevilla in their 6-2 away win in the Primera Division last weekend before being sacrificed after Pepe’s red card. The 24-year-old was again on target - twice this time - against Ponferradina in their 5-1 victory at home in the Copa del Rey.

Daniel Sturridge - Chelsea

Daniel Sturridge has been a revelation for Chelsea this season as his goals, youthful exuberance and quality have aided the Blues in the attacking department. The 22-year-old was again on hand in the London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, as he scored the equaliser in their 1-1 draw in the Premier League.

Leave your notes of congratulations for Mathieu Valbuena below, or discuss who else deserves a place in the spotlight this week...



 
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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
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.
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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