The Ballon d’Or, or the European Footballer of the Year award, is considered one of the most prestigious individual awards in football. It’s the only award to be decided by journalists, with 96 journalists deciding the award from a selection of fifty contenders.
This year’s selections were made last week, and unofficially, the award is seen as being awarded to the best player in the world, though it is not the official title, which is FIFA’s select World Player of the Year.
While I won’t go through all the names on the list, the obvious candidates are there, Ronaldo, Messi, Kaka, Casillas, Xavi. However the debate of this article is not to examine the individual cases of each individual player, but rather to examine what is perhaps more likely to sway the minds of the judges/journalists involved.
This year has witnessed a packed footballing schedule, with the obvious domestic and European commitments, joined by the international tournaments, the European Football Championships and also the Olympic Games.
When deciding who to vote for, the judges will have to decide which is more important—domestic dominance or international victory?
While this might sound like a bizarre argument, think for a second, what defines greatness in a player? What is it that attracts the most attention? Perhaps like me you will come to a similar conclusion—international football.
International tournaments are normally the tournaments where the great players make their mark. Look throughout football history: Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona and Zidane all made their mark on the highest possible stage, and as such are accorded the tag of “great” and held in high esteem because of it.
Domestic success, while obviously important, plays a less significant role. If a player dominates on a domestic level, then he is seen as a very good player, but domestic success seems to lack the cache of international dominance.
Players who dominate domestically are not held in that upper echelon of opinion which the great players are held. Obviously, the great players dominate domestically more often than not, but they aren’t remembered because of that, it merely adds to their legend.
A look at the previous winners of the Ballon d’Or seems to bear out this feeling; the awarding of the prize throughout its history seems to be linked intrinsically to how players perform at these tournaments.
For example, Fabio Cannavaro won the award in 2006 on the back of Italy’s win at the World Cup.
Ronaldo won the award in 2002, in spite of playing little to no football throughout the year, bar the World Cup in which he finished top scorer.
Matthias Sammer won it in 1996, when the Germans triumphed in Euro 96.
The awarding of this award is linked to how the player’s play on the biggest stage. Is it little coincidence for instance that Zinedine Zidane, a player believed to be the best ever, was only given the award for the first time after the French triumphed at the World Cup in 1998?
So we can see that, for the most part, winning the award is very much the preserve of those that dominate the international tournaments over the years.
With regard to this year’s awards, I feel that this is an important point to remember.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a player for whom every superlative has been awarded, enjoyed a phenomenal season last season for Manchester United, scoring a massive 42 goals, taking the breath away of almost every football fan around the world, and truly setting alight the Premiership in a way which few players have done.
Yet Ronaldo, in a sense, failed at the highest stage internationally for Portugal where he played poorly as they went out with a whimper against the Germans.
Bear in mind that a nagging criticism of Ronaldo is his failure to shine in the big matches. For instance, there is that match for Portugal, the penalty miss in the shootout against Chelsea, and also remember that many felt Ronaldo missed out on the award the year before because he was anonymous in the Champions League semifinal, whereas Kaka, the winner, outshone him utterly.
Now, while for many he has far and away the standout player on the domestic scene in Europe, these failures could perhaps cost him, bearing in mind that international success has in the past been a determining factor for the judges deciding who gets the award.
As a result, the cases of a number of other contenders, who on the basis of domestic form would struggle to compete with Ronaldo, actually become a lot more promising.
For instance, Lionel Messi, a player who perhaps is coming closest to fulfilling the "new Maradona" tag and who has started the season very well for Barcelona fresh from winning gold with Argentina at the Olympics, could come into consideration.
The cases of Spanish stars Iker Casillas, Fernando Torres, and Xavi Hernandez is also strengthened further.
Casillas, who also enjoyed domestic success with Real Madrid, captained Spain to triumph and also broke an international record for time without conceding. His is a very strong case, while Torres scored the winner in the final, and enjoyed a fine season with Liverpool—albeit a trophy-less one—while Xavi was named player of the tournament at Euro 2008—a tag which instantly strengthens his case.
So, as we can see, who wins this award could very much come down to the journalists deciding what they perhaps consider the overriding factor behind their decision. If they follow the historical precedent and base their choice on international matches, then there are a few contenders to choose from.
However, if they reason that the case for domestic dominance is so strong that it sways their decision, then there is only one winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
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2 months ago
My question is, through what time period is the award for? Is it for the duration of the last domestic and European club campaigns? Or is it for the calendar year? Too ambiguous! I think that domestic club, European club, and International performances all play a role in the deciding of the award.
from 2 months ago
Its done year to year, not season to season-its one of the main criticisms of the award. So in theory, the voting for this award would be based on the year since the 2007 award was handed out. I think you are right, all should play a part in deciding the award, but my question is, will they choose one category of competition over another? Domestic or international?
2 months ago
Interesting take on this.
Either way, theres only one winner for me: Lionel Messi. The award is for best player, not who scored most goals. In my view, Messi is by far and away the better player.
from 2 months ago
If awards are just for the best and not those that play the best then why stop there?
Why not just give Arsenal the 3 points at home to Hull because they are the "better" team with "better" players.
Thankfully players have to prove their worth to score goals and win matches and competitions. Messi didn't do enough of this last season, Ronaldo did.
from 2 months ago
No, the award is for the best player that season, not the one who scored the most goals, otherwise the Ballon d'Or would always go to the European Golden Boot winner and defenders or keepers would never win the award.
And it's debateable whether Arsenal are better than Hull!
2 months ago
have to agree with barney, even though id love to see torres win it, i think messi has been far more influential for barca and argentina than ronaldo has for man u and portugal. i stress the and there, his performances at euro 2008 didnt live up to expectations.
from 2 months ago
You obviously have no skin left on your face and therefore have no qualms about displaying your ignorance to all and sundry.I therefore have no wish to further expose ignorance as far as the topic at hand is except to point out the "Messi" had a messy season , he was out injured and therefore did NOT have a POSITIVE "influencial" effect on Barca's season.I Since you obviously spent the last year as a Nomad bonking goats in the deserts of Afganistan ,It would also be in your best interest to inform you that Cristiano Ronaldo not only performed way and above any expectations for his club and was the single most INFLUENTIAL player to win them , not only the Premier league but also the Eufa Champions league trophy (the most coveted of European club competitions). Even more bizzarely you seem to be foolishly hanging on the almost pukeable notion that TORRES will scoop the award! You silly ,silly man!
from 2 months ago
so you joined bleacher report solely to abuse me? i'm flattered. and yes, i was close to afghanistan, i was serving my country in iraq for the majority of last year, but i still manged to follow footbll as often as i could. ronaldos performances at euro did not live up to the hyp surrounding his great season for his club, unlike torres and messi, with torres performing well, including scoring the winning goal in the largest international tournament outside the fifa world cup, and messi helped guide his country to their second consecutive olympic gold
2 months ago
Everyone has a bone to pick with Ronaldo and try to find any possible reason to discredit his performances. Actually put that to English clubs as a whole. People say that great players are born from international tournaments, George Best, a player even Pele regarded as the greatest ever never graced the International Cup scene. So does that mean he is less of a player as Maradona or Pele or Cryuff eventhough he has equalled them in domestic and European Club success? No. Because some players have it easier than others in international matches and thus arent able to go far due to their team mates, therefore judging a player's 'greatness' in that respect is utterly childish! Now coming to this years awards, people are in confusion as to whether international matches or domestic matches should be held in higher regard to the other, well here are some facts that should make the answer easier. Club leagues and tournaments last for 10 months of a football calender year, internatinal tournaments last for only 1 month. You play around 40 odd matches for your club if you are a consistent starter, while you can play at most 6-7 matches in an international tournament (6 for Euro's while 7 for WC). Now are you trying to tell me that you regard 7 matches played in 1 month of football more than 40 matches over 10 months? Utterly ridiculous! It is called Player of the YEAR for a reason, players should be judged over the period of the football calender year and therefore Club football is the best determinment of that. I'm not totally discounting international football, it should be given credibility, but never more than club football. It's the performances in club football that determine the consistency a player shows over the football year. Also you are saying that Ronaldo underperforms in 'big' matches and state his penalty miss as an example. Some people go on to state that as a reason why he shouldnt be awarded. Ahm, Dear Author. Who scored United's goal in the final? Thank You. And here are otehr examples of Ronaldo's so called 'underperforming' in big matches. 1 assist and 1 goal against Arsenal at the Emirates. 1 goal against Liverpool at OT. 1 goal against Lyon at home in the UCL Round of 16. 1 goal against Roma at the Olympic Stadium in the Quater Final of the UCL. Oh and see you have mentioned Torres's performances in the Euro and set that in his favour, I guess your only saying that because he scored in the final (hhmm who else scored in a important final?) but I think you and many others who followed the Euros would agree that Torres was no where near his best for that 1 month of football. For my closing statement this long are boring reply which would have been much better as an article itself, I leave you with some stats that show why Ronaldo should be the awarded European Player of the Year. EPL:- 31 goals in 34 matches (Top scorer), UCL:- 8 goals in 11 matches. Overall 42 goals in 49 matches (European Golden Boot).
from 2 months ago
Hasan, don't misunderstand, I believe that Ronaldo will win the award, he's had a phenomenal year domestically. But he's had it domestically. These awards tend to be awarded on the basis of international success-which is my point.
Its not a personal opinion, I believe domestic football to be the lifeblood of all football. Its simply how the awards are handed out, if you look at the article I point out that the winners of this award tend to be one's who have triumphed at the international tournaments. For instance, Ronaldo (the old one!) won in 2002, having played no football-bar the world cup-that was a ridiculous selection. It emphasised, the bias towards international tournaments that exist. Which is the only way I can see Ronaldo not getting the award
2 months ago
Its still gotta be Ronaldo. Player of the YEAR award. As in the whole year. And for me, thats Ronaldo. He was the most consistant player on the planet last year.
Champions League Winner.
Premier League Winner
European Golden Boot
FifPro World Player Award
FifPro World XI
PFA Players player of the year
PFA fans player of the year
PFA Premier League Team of the Year
FWA Footballer of the year
Barclays Player of The Season
Barclays Player of the Month January and March 08
UEFA Forward of the year
UEFA Club Footballer of the year
It cant be ignored. I enjoyed the read and it was an intresting take. Internationals of course extremely important and a players performance in those internationals can make or break a reputation. But if say it went to Messi - how can that be justice? He was injured most of the season and yes I know he made a huge impact at the olympics but I still dont think its enough. Kaka, well we all know he dissapeared last season.
Messi or Kaka on form would no doubt take it. But they werent. I hope the journalists recognise this.
from 2 months ago
Olympics? Hmph! Playing with a bunch (okay, talented bunch :P ) of U-23 year olds, yea that is a tremendous challenge for any international player!
2 months ago
I fail to understand what the reasoning is behind the arguement of "give it to Messi" brigade ? Did Messi impress last season ? No (he was injured). Did he achieve at club level ? No. ( he was injured.) Did he dominate his league? nO (HE WAS INJURED) ,Did he set the soccer scene on fire? No (he was injured).Did he dictate the headlines on a Sunday morning ? No he was injured.Did he bring joy to many a true soccer lovers heart?No he was injured. In a nut shell ,why is Messi even on the shortlist as he was injured most of last season? With this in mind ,I wonder if this fact does't put a possible turdy taint on the credibility of this illustrious award. Incidently ,speaking of "Turdy taints" WHATEVER HAPPENED TO KAKA ?
2 months ago
The issue has to be cleared upon the word "international". When you mean the national team tournaments such as World Cup, European Championship or the Olympics that's ok. But, as I mentioned in one of my few articles, the continental competitions held by their respective federations have become as "international" as the competitions mentioned above.
So would a club team's performance in Champions League be considered as "domestic" or "internaitonal".
I would vote for the latter in this question.
Certainly, those major international competitions where the best national teams of that very moment are being represented requires the utmost performances of their individual players. And stars rise on such occasions. Being anonymous in big games is a tag which is hard to get rid of. Ronaldo, as mentioned in the article too is being haunted by that, and quite righteously too.
But when it comes to international competitions with national teams some really talented players' chances go straight to garbage. If this year was not the Olympic year players rooted out of Europe would not stand a chance in this evaluation at all. Is that fair?
Again, returning to my article where I suggested Champions League to be the most important, the most prestigeous tournament at the moment, I would consider the player of that tournament should be the favorite candidate for the award by itself. (I really don't enjoy linking to my article, honestly, but this article is closely related to that one from my point of view, sorry for the "Me! me!" parts)
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