The Ballon D’Or, Golden Ball, or erstwhile European Footballer of the Year award is the most prestigious individual honour in football. France Football first elected Stanley Matthews as Europe’s best player in 1956, and each year since has seen the award grow in significance. By the late 1980s, it was the unrivaled pinnacle of the European game for those seeking confirmation of greatness.
FIFA – as is their wont – tried to muscle in the early 1990s and attempted to take advantage of the fact that the France Football prize was limited to players from Europe by inaugurating the FIFA World Player of the Year award. That, however, was holed under the bow for two reasons.
First, there’s the simple fact that journalists are better judges of a player’s annual form than myopic coaches who insist on picking either their own players or those whom they are familiar with – usually over-the-top former heroes whose best days have long since gone. Second, France Football could always change the rules to allow players operating in the UEFA zone to become eligible for consideration. Let’s face it, no top-class player meriting consideration plays anywhere other than in Europe. No, not even washed-up underwear models.
Just last year, France Football went the whole hog and decided to change the title of the award to Ballon D’Or. This ended the anomalous situation which pertained when, say, a South American won the title of European Footballer of the Year.
In determining the annual winner of this award, it is worth understanding that there are two types of year: those with major international tournaments, and those without. Awards in the former tend to be won by the dominant player of the summer’s World Cup or European Championship. Awards in the former are usually determined by the European club season. However, in any year, form in the club season that has passed the previous May and that in the season that has started in September are factors.
This year, no individual dominated Euro 2008. Collectively, Spain were the pick of the bunch, but no player rose head and shoulders above his team-mates. Cases can be made for David Villa, Fernando Torres, Xavi Hernandez, and Marcos Senna. However, none had particularly glorious club seasons. Villa top-scored in Switzerland and Austria, but his Valencia campaign was unrewarding.
Torres had a fine season in England, but won nothing. He had a mediocre summer tournament, though capped – and perhaps covered a multitude of mediocrity – with a typically snaffled winner in the final. Xavi, splendid in the final, was lost in a sea of Barcelona ineptitude.
Senna, admirable as he is, won nothing of note at Villarreal. He’s also disadvantaged by the fact that he is a destroyer. Had a Spaniard won a European trophy this season – think Iker Casillas, for example – then the Ballon D’Or would be theirs by right. As it is, they didn’t. This award will go elsewhere.
If so, where to? Well, going into the summer Cristiano Ronaldo looked favourite. He may still be, but in reality he’s shot his bolt. The Portuguese had an exceptional season for Manchester United, won the Premier League, and capped it all with a goal in the victorious Champions’ League final in Moscow. However, even that night the cracks were showing. Ronaldo missed his penalty kick, had a miserable European Championship, and promptly got injured after waging a PR campaign to move to Real Madrid. He’s just returned to action and his chances of capturing the headlines to copper-fasten the award look to have passed.
Instead, a little Argentinian has stolen his thunder. Manchester United knocked Barcelona out of the Champions’ League in May, but did so, to my mind, only because of the absence of one Lionel Messi. Yes, the 21-year-old played in the first-leg, but he was clearly unfit. His performances since have been consistently sensational.
This season – and this season matters in a year when no player has nailed the award by July – Messi is easily the world’s top player. Also in the credit column is the fact that he actually won a summer tournament. Messi dominated the Olympic Games football tournament in China as Argentina won gold. It may not be the Euros, but many journalists simply want an excuse to give him the award. His current form and his gold-plated success will give him the edge for many.
The beauty of Messi is that, unlike Ronaldo, he is not a triumph of style over substance. The Portuguese pretty boy is an exciting player, but he lacks the elegant subtlety and vision of the South American. Messi plays without ego. There is no affectation here. He plays as he would in a park with his friends, naturally, and with freedom. There is no posturing, pouting, or posing. What you see is what you get. Nothing is contrived. His talent, rather than his hair gel, is what is noticed. Anybody screaming at his presence is doing so because that’s what witnessing raw footballing genius can do.
Truly great players have won this award in the past. Think Di Stefano, Eusebio, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Rummenigge, Platini, van Basten, Ronaldo, and Zidane. It’s time to elect the only current player worthy of comparison.
1 Comment
October 25, 2008 at 5:04 am
Totally agree with you, especially on the last two paras. Messi’s style is unrivalled to Ronaldo’s in the sense that he just dances sweetly around defenders and simplicity is the key. And like you mentioned about playing in the park, Messi has fun when he’s on the pitch and each time he gets the ball, he gives goosebumps to even the last fan on the stands and makes them sit on the edge of their seats for all the 90 minutes that he plays. And its not necessary to win any championship to be the Ballon D’or or the Fifa World Player, the 1994 award and Rivaldo in 1999 are good examples.
Hence, taking into consideration his constant show of brilliance, teamwork, match-saving performances (the hat-trick against Real Madrid is no mean achievement) and the Gold for Argentina, he somehow seems to have tipped Ronaldo for the awards.
P.S.: I am a big Messi fan; at the same time, I really like Ronaldo’s game and I’m a big Man United fan as well. So I believe this is a neutral perspective.