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| Lev Yashin apparently |
The FIFA Ballon D’or currently stands as the ultimate prize
a player can win individually. Ever
since it merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year, it has become the only real
validation of a player’s supreme
performance over a season. To date there has only ever
been one goalkeeper to win the award – Lev Yashin of Dinamo Moscow and USSR. I’m
not exactly an expert in 1960s football so I couldn’t tell you how great a
player he was, but he’s the one who won it. I will say though that he must have
been an exceptional player to win the award from in goal.
In modern times Gianluigi Buffon is the keeper to have come
the closest to winning the award when he finished second in 2006. Unfortunately,
I believe it is very unlikely that a goalkeeper will win a Ballon D’or in the
near future. It would be an admission that a goalkeeper could possibly be
considered as the best player in the world. An acknowledgement that a world
class save is just as important as a goal. Recognition that the work at the
defensive end of the pitch is just as important as what goes on in the
attacking third. Realistically who is going to admit to that? Out of all the
nominees this year, Thibaut Courtois and Manuel Neuer are the only goalkeepers.
If a goalkeeper were to win it again, I believe that it will be Neuer, and this
year is perhaps his best chance to do it.
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| Legends of the game already |
In my opinion there are two ways a player wins a Ballon
D’or. Either you stand out so much individually that you become impossible to
be overlooked, or your team/country or both have achieved a lot in the season
and you happen to be one of the best players in the squad. Messi and Ronaldo
are prime examples of players who fall into the first category. The two have
achieved demi-god status within the football world and have undoubtedly been on
another planet for the past four years in terms of their playing standard and
goal scoring records - hence why they have shared the last 4 Ballon D’ors. The debate
rages on as to which of the two is better (Ronaldo), and will most likely
continue long after the two have retired (Ronaldo), so there’s no use starting
such a debate now (Ronaldo). One thing that is universally agreed upon is that
they are both on another level.
Fabio Cannavaro perfectly highlights a player who fall into
the second category. Cannavaro bagged the award on the back of Italy’s world
cup triumph where he was captain. At this time Barcelona were probably the best
team in the world having just done a La Liga/Champions League double.
Ronaldinho was in my opinion the best player in the world at the time and
probably deserved a second successive trophy. However Italy’s and Cannavaro’s
performance in a FIFA competition was enough for him to win the award.
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| An incredibly German looking man |
Neuer’s performances for Germany in Brazil stand him in good
stead for this year’s award. Winner of
the Golden Glove, he was the rock solid foundation on which Die Mannschaft was
built. After all it is the FIFA Ballon D’or, and he was exceptional in a FIFA
tournament, so that definitely works in his favour. Domestically, Neuer is
undisputedly the best player in his position in the world (although David de
Gea is slowly coming for him). Bayern Munich dominate the Bundesliga and have
reached the last 4 of the Champions League for the last 3 seasons.
The form that Cristiano Ronaldo has been in over the past
year makes it hard to look past him for this year’s award. It would be criminal
for him not to win it. However if Sepp Blatter’s FIFA politics that saw Lionel Messi win the player of the tournament were to rear
their heads then it wouldn’t surprise me if a German player won this year’s Ballon
D’or. Manuel Neuer played just as much of a part in Germany’s triumph as anyone
else, so it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility for him to emulate Lev Yashin
and become the second goalkeeper to win
the prestigious award.
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