January is the month football celebrates its great achievers. At an awards ceremony in Zurich last week, Lionel Messi won his third consecutive FIFA Ballon d’Or, Pep Guardiola was named Coach of the Year and Neymar’s individual effort against Flamengo was voted Goal of 2011.   Around the same time, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics [IFFHS], an institution that aims to establish a scientific rather than subjective chronological documentation of world football, announced its own awards in relation to the last calendar year.   For what it’s worth, Xavi was honored as the world’s best playmaker, Iker Casillas the best goalkeeper, Guardiola the best club coach, Óscar Tabárez the best national team coach and Viktor Kassai the best referee.   The…