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Why Ronaldo Winning Bd'o Is Good For Footbal
Topic Started: Dec 1 2008, 12:55 PM (153 Views)
elcule
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Goal.com's Ewan Macdonald argues that a Ballon d'Or win for Ronaldo is positive not just for the player himself but for the world game as a whole. Why? Read on...

He doesn't shine in the big games. He had an average Euro 2008. He's arrogant. He's started the current season in less than world-class fashion.

So why is Ronaldo a stick-on to win the Golden Ball - and why is it fundamentally the correct thing that he does so?

Before I try to answer this question, I'll lay my cards on the table. I am no supporter of Manchester United and no great fan of the Premier League. Sure, I'll watch it when it's on, but my passions lie mainly with the league I cover for Goal.com: that of Spain.

That's the Spanish league, of course, but I also take an interest in the national team. I am not Spanish by birth but I was still pleased to see a team comprising so many La Liga players win Euro 2008.

Yet I am delighted that none of the Spaniards, who I watch and admire every week, are going to beat Ronaldo to the punch. This is because Ronaldo has that one facet that is all too often overlooked by Ballon d'Or voters: consistency.

Night After Night

Yes, consistency. Some may say he fades in and out on the big occasion, but there can be no arguing that Ronaldo turned it on week in, week out, last season.

We're all sick of hearing about the 42 goal statistic, endlessly wheeled out as it is by pro-English pundits, yet if we detach ourselves from the hype for a moment and look at it with fresh eyes, we must see anew its significance. Forty-two goals in a competitive season. It's like something from the days of Ferenc Puskas, and it's come from the boots (and head) of a 23-year-old.

Yet in the eyes of some this is not enough, simply because Ronaldo didn't "perform on the big stage." As if scoring in a Champions League final isn't a big stage - still, let's put that aside and run with it.

For me the problem with the Ballon d'Or is that it puts too much emphasis on the big occasion, in which the cameras are flashing and the spotlight gleaming. The Footballer of the Year award, so-called, often becomes the Footballer of the Month Or So In Which Everyone Is Paying Attention.

Change Of Pace

Yet in the past a player like Ronaldo - or slightly below him - wouldn't have won. Nor would he have been in with a chance.

This is because of what I like to call the "even-year problem," which is best summed up by the following maxim: If you play for a small country with little chance of international success, your opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or in an even-numbered year is halved - or worse. After all, the big international tournaments take place in even-numbered years.

Think about it. There are plenty of examples. 2006: Fabio Cannavaro. His performance at the World Cup was jaw-droppingly good, but at club level? His Juventus side were ultimately to be disgraced, and Real Madrid hadn't exactly hit stride by December. Yet because he performed in out-of-this-world fashion for a single month the prize was his. Note that I'm not even necessarily saying that he didn't deserve it, but the fact that Italy won the World Cup meant that nobody else even had a chance, regardless of their achievements over a domestic season.

This is key, because what of those players who won't get the chance to shine for that international month? Let's go with that: a better way to phrase it, then, is calling it the "odd-year problem." George Weah of Liberia - a country unlikely to set the world stage alight anytime soon - won in 1995. Would he have won in 1996, the year Matthias Sammer led Germany to Euro 96? Hardly. But had he carried out his feats of '95 the following year there is a very compelling case for saying that he should have.

Internationals

Maybe it's less a problem with international years as internationals in general. I am no great lover of the international game, I must admit, but even so I don't think that this clouds my judgement. If we are to judge the Footballer of the Year then why should the lottery of birth come into it? If the best club player in the world comes from Montserrat or Bhutan then will he lose out to a Brazilian, a German, an Italian, simply because he hasn't the chance to impress at the European Championships?

The obvious reply here is that this is a deflection: Ronaldo did have the chance, but he just didn't take it. There is some truth in that - I would hardly call him a Euro 2008 flop but it's certainly the case that he was nowhere near the level of, say, Xavi.

But where was Xavi for the other eleven months of the year? Playing well for the most part, that is true. But was he netting 42 goals? Was he leading his side to the championship in what is by many regarded as the best league in the world? Scoring in the Champions League final?

Hardly. And that's why, although he didn't always hit the heights, Ronaldo must win, for the good of the game.
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"If I go to Anfield and someone puts the ball into the box and Carragher hammers it out of play the fans applaud. At Camp Nou you would never be applauded for that." - Xavi
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Scholes
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Good article though a little long-winded.
Scholes
 

Seriously, Frank Lampard is an absolute legend of the game. He needs to be recognised in some way eg. Frank Lampard OBE, Sir Frank Lampard or some kind of lifetime achievement award.

AntMcfc
 
Greatest ownage machine: Scholes. Absolute animal when he was a regular poster, I always knew I was in the right when he was backing me up, and I couldn't wait to read a topic that he was posting in because I knew he'd be tearing someone apart
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Homer
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I think he makes a very good point.
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ManYou
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The idea of a player winning this award because he was in a winning international side is ridiculous IMO. Why should it have any bearing on the result?

Cannavaro won in 06 but would the judges have changed their mind if France had won on pens and given it to Zidane? If so this award is a joke because then the judges decide things by one match which is nothing short of scandalous.

Cannavaro in 06 was part of a Juventus side relegated for match fixing so clearly Fabio wasn't been tested during the 05/06 season and he wins it. What a joke.

Ronaldo must win this, Casillas is the only one who stands a chance against him.
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elcule
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To be fair to Cannavaro, that was a great Juventus side, and they did win Serie A that year. However, that was rightfully Ronaldinho's award.

On the other hand mate, if United had lost to Wigan and Terry hadn't slipped then i doubt that Ronaldo would have been given the award this year (assuming he does).
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"If I go to Anfield and someone puts the ball into the box and Carragher hammers it out of play the fans applaud. At Camp Nou you would never be applauded for that." - Xavi
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Homer
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Nah even if Ronaldo won nothing he would have still won but of course he has more of a chance with winning titles.
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ManYou
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elcule
Dec 1 2008, 08:45 PM
To be fair to Cannavaro, that was a great Juventus side, and they did win Serie A that year. However, that was rightfully Ronaldinho's award.

On the other hand mate, if United had lost to Wigan and Terry hadn't slipped then i doubt that Ronaldo would have been given the award this year (assuming he does).

I know!, he probably wouldn't get it simply because of a meaningless detail like Terry slipping (Nothing to do with Ronaldo's performances).

If FIFA (Or whoever) told everyone what is the main criteria for a player being in contention for and winning this coveted award, I bet anything they could explain the reasoning behind naming some of the previous winners.

Everyone was saying that what tipped it in Kaka's favour in 2007 was the fact he won the CL, now that Ronaldo has won the CL and PL on top of several stunning performances, how can he not win it?!

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elcule
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There isn't a criteria, for the Ballon D'Or (nothing to do with FIFA btw - just a group of journalists) people just pick who they thought was best out of the 30 candidates.

The world player of the year is the same but with the coaches and captain of every national team recognised by FIFA.

The Ballon D'Or is normally fair and unbiased, where as the World Player of the Year is rather prone to corruption from Italian and Spanish teams lol.
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"If I go to Anfield and someone puts the ball into the box and Carragher hammers it out of play the fans applaud. At Camp Nou you would never be applauded for that." - Xavi
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ManYou
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Thierry Henry
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It probably is fair and tbh every season there is around 5 outstanding performers in the world so it's obviously tight but I dont feel it's fair to give it to one player because their team won something big. The winning player may not have played a critical part in that success.

Wonder how many of the previous winners of the Ballon D'Or were winners of the CL or an international tournament? :deepthought:
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Scholes
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Owen won it when Liverpool won the minor Treble. His Cup final goals against Arsenal were memorable though.
Scholes
 

Seriously, Frank Lampard is an absolute legend of the game. He needs to be recognised in some way eg. Frank Lampard OBE, Sir Frank Lampard or some kind of lifetime achievement award.

AntMcfc
 
Greatest ownage machine: Scholes. Absolute animal when he was a regular poster, I always knew I was in the right when he was backing me up, and I couldn't wait to read a topic that he was posting in because I knew he'd be tearing someone apart
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elcule
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Rivaldo in 99 was the only one to win the award when his team won nothing.
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"If I go to Anfield and someone puts the ball into the box and Carragher hammers it out of play the fans applaud. At Camp Nou you would never be applauded for that." - Xavi
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