Its that time of the year when the football community is locked in heavy debates and deliberations on who most deserves the crown of the prestigious Ballon d’or accolade. With the fore running nominees for the award repeating it itself for the last four years in the persons of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel messi *i say to myself aren’t we tired already*.
Unfortunately this article will not be centered on the duo as they’ve both earned the right to be named deserved winners. I’ve always been of the opinion that the past winner has been in a slightly stronger position because of team and their history defying era. That being said whoever comes out victorious will have sufficient reasons to buttress the crown.
I was enthused when I got the Ballon d’or web feed as I anticipated a list of deserving nominees, but to my great surprise *uhm, well not too surprised* embedded in the list were some under performing although big names who have made this list hiding under the veil of their club status, media hype or managerial praise.
I anticipated the worst when my eyes came in contact with the name Mario Balotelli!! well placed at the top of the pile, this was certainly a sign of things to come as again Sergio Busquets was firmly inked in the nominees list *and i ask myself in what way have we offended sepp Blatter?!*
Starting with Manchester city’s off bench forward Balotelli, whose cavalier, inconsistent not to mention irresponsible attitude intermittently threatened to cost City the Epl title last season. As a striker constantly came into the spotlight for mostly the wrong reasons, often incurring the wrath of his team-mates who were always left frustrated with his bizzare attitude most notably his refusal to celebrate goals. Judging by any standard Balotelli in this list doesn’t fall in the class of his fellow contenders here stated, with just 17 goals in all completions for city last season with no less than 4 penalties inclusive *didn’t mean that* and a total of 29 since joining heavy spenders city, with a staggering number of Red cards to his name (for a forward). His inclusion to say the least is embarrassing to what ballon d’or represents. I bet the City fans would gladly replace “Balo-trouble” with either David silva or Vincent kompany the duo being heavily responsible alongside Yaya toure & Augero for a dramatic power shift in the City of manchester last season.
Appearing before this court also is the Catalian midfielder Sergio Busquets, who were this accolade to be a midfield ball keeping contest he will by all standards make a reasonable claim for possible winner. Infact I think Sergio Busquets inclusion boils down to the fiery veil of the midfield trio alongside Iniesta and Xavi. Especially when you consider Barca losing out to a record breaking Madrid team last term. One has the right to question under what auspices he makes this list. Yes! He was part of a spanish team that lifted the european cup in the summer but even Jesus Navas alongside Victor valdes who played little or no part also lifted that trophy *again hiding under a collective effort*. Without wasting ink if I’m termed as being too harsh on Sergio’s inclusion I might adjourn his case for a later date.
Without wasting time Gerard Pique steps up for a quick review on his surprise inclusion in this list of nominees. Just incase you missed the story, we all acknowledge his contribution with spain in the european cup lifting summer alongside a then in-form Sergio Ramos whose commanding presence was arguably the backbone of the spanish defence alongside Iker Casillas. He performed on an average for barca and was a shadow of himself as compared to the previous his cup lifting runs with Barcelona. This was evident also with a denied fallout with Guardiola after being secretly dropped from the starting xi. Seeing him in this list came as a shock to me especially when the title winning Pepe is nowhere to be found in this regard.
Lastly is Manuel Neuer who on his day is one of the best shot stoppers in Europe, but his inclusion in this list is duly unmerited as they (Bayern munich) were overrun in the league last season by Borussia Dortmund and were also handed a heavy defeat in the final cup game of the season. Unlike his counterparts in the list Iker casillas & Gianluigi Buffon who both were involved in record breaking runs for their various clubs, with each facing off in the summer european cup final. Maybe the inclusion of Joe Hart will have been music to our ears who knows!
In summation the football governing body FIFA in conjunction with UEFA haven’t been magnanimous in their leadership, to say the least synonymous with the word democracy as over the years we’ve been stunned by various awards and unfair judgment irrespective of what the footballing community (fans) think. For now we can only hope these pending issues be sorted out before long for the betterment of football.
Here is a comprehensive list on Ballon D’or nominees 2012.
BALLON D’OR NOMINEES
Sergio AgueroManchester City
Mario BalotelliManchester City
Karim BenzemaReal Madrid
Gianluigi BuffonJuventus
Sergio BusquetsBarcelona
Iker CasillasReal Madrid
Didier DrogbaShanghai Shenhua
Radamel FalcaoAtletico Madrid
Zlatan IbrahimovicParis Saint-Germain
Andres IniestaBarcelona
Lionel Messi Barcelona
Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich
NeymarSantos
Mesut Ozil Real Madrid
Gerard Pique Barcelona
Andrea Pirlo Juventus
Sergio Ramos Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Wayne Rooney Manchester United
Yaya Toure Manchester City
Robin van Persie Manchester United
Xabi Alonso Real Madrid
Xavi Hernandez Barcelona
“The Ballon d’Or gala will take place at the Zurich Kongresshaus on January 7 2013, along with the presentation of the Presidential and Fair Play trophies on the same night”.
Follow the author of this write-up on twitter @YubbyThePundit
Credit: www.goal.com
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