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It’s a hat-trick of honors for Homare Sawa. The central midfielder captured widespread acclaim for her talismanic performances throughout Japan’s triumphant run in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The 33-year-old won both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball this summer, and now rounds out the year with the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

It’s the first time a player other than Marta has won the award since 2006. Sawa is just the fourth person to win the prize since it was first awarded to Mia Hamm in 2001.  Birgit Prinz was bestowed with the trophy in three consecutive years from 2003 to 2005.

Marta came in second while Abby Wambach finished third. Here’s the voting breakdown:

Homare Sawa 28.51%

Marta 17.28%

Abby Wambach 13.26%

Aya Miyama 12.18%

Hope Solo 7.83%

Lotta Schelin 4.85%

Kerstin Garefrekes 4.73%

Alex Morgan 4.34%

Louisa Necib 3.21%

Sonia Bompastor 2.99%

And video of Sawa’s win. Pardon the translated dubbing.

Japan Women’s National Team head coach Norio Sasaki claimed the Coach of the Year award. His victory was more of a landslide.

Norio Sasaki 45.57%

Pia Sundhage 15.83%

Bruno Bini 10.28%

Maren Meinert 7.42%

Patrice Lair 5.80%

Thomas Dennerby 4.31%

Hope Powell 3.01%

Jorge Vilda 2.85%

Leo Cuellar 2.38%

Tom Sermanni 2.02%

It was also a hat-trick of awards for the footballing community of Japan. In addition to wins by Sawa and Sasaki, the Japanese Football Association won the 2011 FIFA Fair Play Award for their inspiring response to the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country in March.

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As per tradition, this year’s awards were not without its farcical qualities (cases in point: Morgan’s inclusion, Sinclair’s exclusion, and the fact that Maren Meinert came 4th in the voting when her German U-20 side played just one match in 2011 – a 4-0 win over Belgium). But it’s safe to say those who gained access into this year’s winner’s circle were wholly deserving of the honors.

(Aside: The team captain’s final ballots are always quite illuminating. Here’s the one from last year. Of note, there were several players who did not cast votes for eventual winner Marta including Genoveva Anonma and Ariane Hingst. Also, team captains can’t vote for players on their national teams.)

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