Power 98FM DJ Elliot Danker shares with us his thoughts on which footballer should win the coveted Ballon d’Or
With Lionel Messi injured for a period of time, it seemed that Cristiano Ronaldo has been trying to hog the goals in a bid to win the Ballon d’Or, an individual honour that has eluded him for the past three years.
Just a few weeks ago, a certain Sepp Blatter [President of FIFA] went on Twitter to say how he preferred Messi to Ronaldo. Well, Ronaldo responded by scoring in both legs of the FIFA 2014 World Cup finals playoff against Sweden, including a hat trick in the second leg.
All’s Not Fair?
Immediately after that game, the deadline for the national team coaches and captains, and participating journalists, to submit their top three choices for the award was extended to Nov 29.
Some might think that it was a ploy to ensure that Ronaldo finally wins the award. Of course, one can only speculate.
News of the move to extend the voting period was welcome in the Madrid press, which had been highly critical of Blatter’s recent mockery of Ronaldo, and they played along with theories of a conspiracy to deny the Real Madrid player individual honours.
Deserving or Not?
I’m a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo so, of course, I think he deserves to win the award. But, did you know, before the original deadline of Nov 15, there were reports that Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery was the favourite to win the award?
This makes sense too, since he did lead Bayern to a treble of titles last season.
Ballon d’Or vs. World Cup Success
The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced in Jan 2014. But, whatever you do, don’t put your money on France, Portugal or even Argentina to win the World cup.
Shockingly, the winner of the Ballon d’Or has never gone on to win the World Cup the following year, even though we’ve seen many World Cup winners go on to win the Ballon d’Or.
So for France, Portugal and Argentina, the odds may be stacked against them, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery and Lionel Messi as the three favourites for the award.
The Ballon d’Or will be awarded on Jan 13, 2014, in Zurich, Switzerland.
2013 FIFA BALLON D’OR NOMINEES
Lionel Messi
Starring for Barcelona and Argentina, Lionel Messi has been called “the new Maradona”, “the King of Football”, “the Lion of Camp Nou” and a host of other superlatives.
Messi is known for excellent vision and passing, acceleration, and deft control of the ball.
He has already won four Ballon d’Ors in a row.
Will that be a disadvantage to him winning again?
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo, not to be confused with Ronaldo of Brazil, is one of the most popular players on the planet, for his boyish good looks, dribbling skills and mouth-watering free kicks.
This Real Madrid and Portugal star entered the limelight when he joined Manchester United and thrilled fans with his mazy runs and goal-scoring ability.
Ronaldo has ended up second to Messi three times in the Ballon d’Or. Will he remain second fiddle?
Franck Ribery
Franck Ribery has been the lynchpin for club and country, Bayern Munich and France. While many had expected him to move to a more popular league, he has chosen to remain in the ‘boring’ Bundesliga in Germany since he joined Bayern in 2007.
This has proven wise as he led his club to the DFB Cup, the Bundesliga title, the UEFA Champions League title, and the EUFA Super Cup.
Ribery is also the reigning UEFA Best Player in Europe and was the best player in the UEFA Champions league.
Will this be Ribery’s year? Will he also be the hero in Rio?
Who do you think should win? Drop us a message at Facebook.com/weekendersgp
Catch Elliot Danker on weekdays, from 10am to 2pm, on Power 98FM.
Top photo: Fingerhut
Middle photo: Rui Alexandre Araujo
Bottom photo: Natursports
All photos from Shutterstock.com
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