Vote for the winner of the 2011 Samba Gold Trophy here.
Maicon of Inter Milan won last year, but as of today, the voting for the 2011 version of the Samba Gold trophy is now underway. With an early elimination in the Quarter Finals of the Copa America and mediocre friendly matches, there has been little to shout about with the National Team, but in major European events, Brazilian players are still unavoidable.
Several English-based Candidates
The English league presents a strong showing this year, with five of the thirty candidates. David Luiz, Ramires, Fabio, Lucas Leiva and Sandro are all up for consideration following their 2011 acheivements with clubs in the Premier League. Fábio won a league title and played in the Champions League final; Ramires has become integral to the Chelsea side; David Luiz is now a fixture for Brazil and Chelsea; Lucas Leiva was voted Liverpool’s Player of the Year and Sandro was one of the most impressive newcomers of the 2010/11 season.
Daniel Alves, Hulk and Thiago Silva: The Early Favourites
Following their strong showings at the highest levels of European competition, it is clear that Hulk, Thiago Silva and Daniel Alves will be amongst the leading candidates for the award. Thiago Silva has turned-in consistently top class performances for both club and country, Hulk scored on a machine-like basis to lead Porto to an historic treble, whilst Daniel Alves won a second Champions League title with Barcelona, as well as the La Liga crown.
The eleven renowned journalists and the dream team
Again this year, Sambafoot can call upon a dream team of former-players to make up the second voting panel. Eleven former Brazilian international will participate in the voting and will be rewarded with a third of the weighting. Those involved include: Carlos Alberto Torres, Cafu, Taffarel and Aldair.
A group of eleven journalists including Tim Vickery (BBC), Eric Frosio (L’Equipe) and Walquir Mota (Canal +) will also make up a third of the overall vote and contribute to the award.
