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Ballon D'Or Comment: What About Me? Examining The Absentees From The Golden Ball Shortlist
Goal.com questions the absentees from the prestigious list...
22-Nov-2009 8:30:00 PM
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The imprecise process of attempting to select the outstanding footballers in the world over any given period of time is always going to provide difficulty. Indeed, the candidates on FIFA's shortlist for World Player of the Year and the nominees for the Ballon d'Or are not entirely similar even though the awards set out to follow the same principles.
The FIFA sanctioned list contains three players - Michael Ballack, Gianluigi Buffon and Carles Puyol - who do not feature in the journalists' reckoning while the Ballon d'Or itself proposed a further ten performers deemed to be unworthy of meriting a spot in FIFA's. Ryan Giggs, Maicon and Yoann Gourcuff are among the most glaring of omissions from the list, despite their stellar work during 2009.
The discrepancy best illustrates the subjectivity of such an accolade, and leaves scope for debate; difficult as it may be for a body to highlight 30 of the stand-out candidates for an award, the lists nonetheless contain some names that are as conspicuous by their inclusion as those left off are by their absence.
Nobody is denying that the likes of Franck Ribery and Steven Gerrard are excellent footballers but are they dining out on reputation with their presence on the Ballon d'Or list? Blithely lauding the game's biggest stars each and every season leaves no room at the top for those who genuinely had an outstanding year.
Gerrard managed to lead Liverpool to the Champions League quarter-final, to second place in the Premier League and again proved his undeniable worth to a side that flags in his absence. But on analysis, did he do enough to be among the players of the year? The absence, meanwhile, of Xabi Alonso is being ever so keenly felt at Anfield this season with a glaring gap in the side's midfield. Liverpool are muddling, despite the presence of Gerrard in the line-up, and this can be attributed to the loss of a key player in the shape of the Spaniard. Moreover, Real Madrid have been bouyed in a previously lacklustre by the recruitment of the former Real Sociedad schemer.
Ribery has barely featured this side of summer for either Bayern Munich or France, due to injury, and was not even the best attacker in the Bundesliga last season either. The essential candidates from Germany's top flight had to have been Grafite and Zvjezdan Misimovic of champions Wolfsburg, who instead saw team-mate Edin Dzeko put forward for recognition.
Grafite finished the season as the top scorer in the league while Misimovic topped the assists chart and drew praise for the consistency of his displays. The Brazilian forward hit a Champions League hat-trick on his debut in that competition and remains a threat, even if the goals have slowed in recent weeks. Misimovic stands among the most effective playmakers plying his trade at the moment but seemingly neither have done enough in helping to achieve the side's first ever title to dislodge Ribery from the reckoning.
Karim Benzema has been consistent in his media presence this year, for one reason or another, but has not carried over his ubiquity to the Liga scoring charts, nor was he even top scorer in his last season in Ligue 1. The Frenchman has also seen his international credentials slip further, despite a high-profile transfer from Lyon to Real Madrid. Simply put, Benzema has not set the Spanish top flight alight since completing the deal and has scarcely done enough to be among the top 30 performers in the world this calendar year. From Ligue 1, Yoann Gourcuff makes the cut, mercifully reassuring us that the voting committee at least watches highlights of le Championnat; but what of the absence of Michel Bastos? The dynamic Lyon flanker has entered the argument for a Brazilian World Cup place and his form for Lille last season attracted the plaudits and prompted his switch to OL. Yet, he too misses out for a more recognisable name.
Victor Valdes, he of treble winning Barcelona, claimed the Zamora award for La Liga's best goalkeeper last season but is shunted in favour of Real Madrid custodian, Iker Casillas. The Spain international stopper did not cover himself in glory in high profile Champions League games this season and last but never seems to draw criticism. Instead, he is regularly lauded as the best goalkeeper in the world while Valdes is routinely shunned. Moreover, Hugo Lloris of Lyon has been the stand-out glovesman this season but merits not a mention.
In odd years, without the lucre of a World Cup or European Championship on offer, the international arena may not throw up obvious contenders; on inspection, Luis Fabiano's Brazil form seems to have won him a spot on the shortlist but he is unique in having his international credentials highlighted in 2009. However, the Confederations Cup was not just about Brazil. The United States came out of their shells on the world stage last summer and were capably led by Landon Donovan. The playmaker, vividly remembered for his self congratulatory 'Me!, Me!, Me!' celebration in the final against Brazil, has justifiable case to shout the same word at the 96-strong Ballon d'Or voting panel. His winter move to the Bundesliga may not have come up roses but back in MLS he has led LA Galaxy to the Cup final after two seasons of underachievement.
The process is likely to be filtered down to only Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta - with Cristiano Ronaldo likely to follow as an inexplicable fourth - but the decoration of individuals with personal baubles should be about more than a 'star' tag. The Barcelona trio and the Real Madrid record-breaker are bound to feature on the list for years to come, even if their level of performance decreases, but for the likes of Misimovic, Bastos and Donovan, the chance won't come around that often. It would be nice if that was recognised with a place, however fleeting, in the headlines.
Peter Staunton, Goal.com
The imprecise process of attempting to select the outstanding footballers in the world over any given period of time is always going to provide difficulty. Indeed, the candidates on FIFA's shortlist for World Player of the Year and the nominees for the Ballon d'Or are not entirely similar even though the awards set out to follow the same principles.
The FIFA sanctioned list contains three players - Michael Ballack, Gianluigi Buffon and Carles Puyol - who do not feature in the journalists' reckoning while the Ballon d'Or itself proposed a further ten performers deemed to be unworthy of meriting a spot in FIFA's. Ryan Giggs, Maicon and Yoann Gourcuff are among the most glaring of omissions from the list, despite their stellar work during 2009.
The discrepancy best illustrates the subjectivity of such an accolade, and leaves scope for debate; difficult as it may be for a body to highlight 30 of the stand-out candidates for an award, the lists nonetheless contain some names that are as conspicuous by their inclusion as those left off are by their absence.
Nobody is denying that the likes of Franck Ribery and Steven Gerrard are excellent footballers but are they dining out on reputation with their presence on the Ballon d'Or list? Blithely lauding the game's biggest stars each and every season leaves no room at the top for those who genuinely had an outstanding year.
Gerrard managed to lead Liverpool to the Champions League quarter-final, to second place in the Premier League and again proved his undeniable worth to a side that flags in his absence. But on analysis, did he do enough to be among the players of the year? The absence, meanwhile, of Xabi Alonso is being ever so keenly felt at Anfield this season with a glaring gap in the side's midfield. Liverpool are muddling, despite the presence of Gerrard in the line-up, and this can be attributed to the loss of a key player in the shape of the Spaniard. Moreover, Real Madrid have been bouyed in a previously lacklustre by the recruitment of the former Real Sociedad schemer.
Ribery has barely featured this side of summer for either Bayern Munich or France, due to injury, and was not even the best attacker in the Bundesliga last season either. The essential candidates from Germany's top flight had to have been Grafite and Zvjezdan Misimovic of champions Wolfsburg, who instead saw team-mate Edin Dzeko put forward for recognition.
Grafite finished the season as the top scorer in the league while Misimovic topped the assists chart and drew praise for the consistency of his displays. The Brazilian forward hit a Champions League hat-trick on his debut in that competition and remains a threat, even if the goals have slowed in recent weeks. Misimovic stands among the most effective playmakers plying his trade at the moment but seemingly neither have done enough in helping to achieve the side's first ever title to dislodge Ribery from the reckoning.
Karim Benzema has been consistent in his media presence this year, for one reason or another, but has not carried over his ubiquity to the Liga scoring charts, nor was he even top scorer in his last season in Ligue 1. The Frenchman has also seen his international credentials slip further, despite a high-profile transfer from Lyon to Real Madrid. Simply put, Benzema has not set the Spanish top flight alight since completing the deal and has scarcely done enough to be among the top 30 performers in the world this calendar year. From Ligue 1, Yoann Gourcuff makes the cut, mercifully reassuring us that the voting committee at least watches highlights of le Championnat; but what of the absence of Michel Bastos? The dynamic Lyon flanker has entered the argument for a Brazilian World Cup place and his form for Lille last season attracted the plaudits and prompted his switch to OL. Yet, he too misses out for a more recognisable name.
Victor Valdes, he of treble winning Barcelona, claimed the Zamora award for La Liga's best goalkeeper last season but is shunted in favour of Real Madrid custodian, Iker Casillas. The Spain international stopper did not cover himself in glory in high profile Champions League games this season and last but never seems to draw criticism. Instead, he is regularly lauded as the best goalkeeper in the world while Valdes is routinely shunned. Moreover, Hugo Lloris of Lyon has been the stand-out glovesman this season but merits not a mention.
In odd years, without the lucre of a World Cup or European Championship on offer, the international arena may not throw up obvious contenders; on inspection, Luis Fabiano's Brazil form seems to have won him a spot on the shortlist but he is unique in having his international credentials highlighted in 2009. However, the Confederations Cup was not just about Brazil. The United States came out of their shells on the world stage last summer and were capably led by Landon Donovan. The playmaker, vividly remembered for his self congratulatory 'Me!, Me!, Me!' celebration in the final against Brazil, has justifiable case to shout the same word at the 96-strong Ballon d'Or voting panel. His winter move to the Bundesliga may not have come up roses but back in MLS he has led LA Galaxy to the Cup final after two seasons of underachievement.
The process is likely to be filtered down to only Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta - with Cristiano Ronaldo likely to follow as an inexplicable fourth - but the decoration of individuals with personal baubles should be about more than a 'star' tag. The Barcelona trio and the Real Madrid record-breaker are bound to feature on the list for years to come, even if their level of performance decreases, but for the likes of Misimovic, Bastos and Donovan, the chance won't come around that often. It would be nice if that was recognised with a place, however fleeting, in the headlines.
Peter Staunton, Goal.com
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