Candidates for the best European footballer of the year

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón announced that his new Italian central defender, Fabio Cannavaro, had won the prestigious Ballon d’Or and would replace Ronaldinho as European Footballer of the Year. This surprised many and raised more than one eyebrow. Not because of the fact that Cannavaro would have been the pick, much less because of his dominating displays during the World Cup, but because the winner of the much-hyped award isn’t announced until November 27. Surely this means one of two things. The first of these is that France Football, the magazine that actually hosts the award, has a mole in camp and needs to seriously beef up its security, alternatively, Mr Calderón lives up to Madridista traditions and fills the columns of the newspapers with self-congratulatory comments. propaganda.

If what Calderón wanted was a media frenzy, then he will be a happy man. Italian newspapers were quick to announce: “Cannavaro, it’s all true.” (Gazzetta dello Sport) and: “Cannavaro Ballon d’Or”. (Corriere della Sera). Despite the excitable nature of the Italian media, it would appear that the matter is settled and dusted off. Which would change the purpose of this article from a preview of the favorites to a selection of the almost men. However, the famous trophy is not yet causing feng shui difficulties for the Italian patron at chez Cannavaro, so I will continue with my initial intentions.

The Ballon d’Or was created in 1956 by France Football magazine. At a time when Europe had begun to emerge from the hangover of World War II a decade earlier, and football was enjoying its progression as a world game. The inaugural European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) was played in the same year, and Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews was declared Europe’s first Player of the Year. In the years that followed, the awards were dominated by conquering Madrid, with their striker Alfredo di Stefano claiming the title twice. The very idea of ​​the award showed that football was now a sport that could bring people from different countries together, a factor so important considering that much of the continent had been a battleground just over a decade earlier. Despite being held by France’s leading football publication, the award is based on the considered opinion of journalists from across Europe.

The prize has been fairly evenly distributed among the leading figures in European club football over the years, Juventus leading the way with a total of eight winners (a total that could well have been further expanded had he not intervened). the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal), AC is followed by Milan (seven), Barcelona (six), Real Madrid (five) and Bayern Munich (five). Of course, we must bear in mind that the award ceremony traditionally takes place in November each year, so many victorious players may have been at new clubs at the time of the award ceremony, having won the applause leading up to the award ceremony. to the prize elsewhere. (Both Luis Figo and Ronaldo are examples of this, having moved to Madrid just a few months before the presentation). The only major change to the award since it began came in 1995 when it was decreed that the winner need not be of European nationality, simply have their contract held by a club that is under the jurisdiction of UEFA (to the delight of the Liberian striker George Weah, who took full advantage of the rule change in 1995).

An obvious starting point for such an award would be to pick up where we left off last year. Brazilian Ronaldinho, who won last year’s award (to sit proudly on the mantelpiece next to his World Player of the Year award) to reconfirm him as the best player on the planet. The Barcelonan, for his high level, had a disappointing year. Despite adding the Champions League to his collection of medals, he was relatively below par in the World Cup (a competition that can generally be considered the deciding factor for the award) as his Brazilian team (and favorites before the tournament) limped into the World Cup. the quarter-finals have been widely tipped to take a sixth title. Of his compatriots, only Kaká really shone in Germany and sadly, the AC Milan striker ended the season without a medal despite enhancing his growing reputation as a force to be reckoned with in world football and a potential future award winner.

As we’ve discussed before, major tournaments often have a big impact on who gets the prize money. Take, for example, Ronaldo’s 2002 Ballon d’Or. After another injury-plagued season in Italy with Internazionale, the phenominon (as his fans know him) lit up in the Far East to help Brazil claim a fifth World. Cup, scoring an incredible eight goals along the way and exorcising some of the demons of his breakup in the 1998 competition. He took the coveted prize.

From this theory, we can assume that this year’s winner will probably come from Italy. As mentioned above, all this talk is pretty much irrelevant as Fabio Cannavaro has been, though not yet confirmed, declared the winner by his club president. Actually, if this were the case, few would argue. The Italian captain was a lion at the heart of the formidable Italian defense that sparked ‘campione del mondo’ (‘world champions’) headlines across the Mediterranean peninsula. However, the 33-year-old ex-Juventus player doesn’t get as emotional as his president (at least not before the famous ‘fat’ has had her moment). Cannavaro has said: “Of course I would like to win it. It would be wonderful and very rewarding on a personal level.”

As well as the man from Madrid, Italy can boast strong claims for the prize through midfielder Andrea Pirlo and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Pirlo, during the previous season with Milan, and the World Cup with his nation, enhanced the reputation that he had, at least in his early career, threatened without ever reaching it. Some superb displays in the heart of the Azzuri midfield raised Pirlo’s profile to be ranked among the best on the continent at his position, although a lack of success on the home front may have cost him. However, the most interesting are the calls for the award to be given to Gigi Buffon. The Juventus and Italy goalkeeper has long been regarded as the best in the world in his position. In Germany, Buffon further embellished this claim. Some heroic performances, most notably in the semi-final against the hosts and his performance in saving penalties to claim the trophy in the final, gave him credit for becoming only the second goalkeeper to win the award. By claiming the Ballon d’Or, he would truly claim a place among the greats, as the only other ‘number one’ to win the award was Russia’s Lev Yashin in 1963. He also has the support of Italy legend and former footballer European. of the Year, Gianni Rivera. Hearing of Cannavaro’s premature victory, Rivera proclaimed: “I would have picked Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, but if it’s true that Fabio is going to win it, I’m happy anyway.”

If the Ballon d’Or comes to Italy, he will be the country’s fourth winner after Rivera himself (1969), Paolo Rossi (1982) and Roberto Baggio (1993).

However, not everyone agrees that the award should go to an Italian. Hearing Ramon Calderon’s claims, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reacted in typically defiant fashion: “Congratulations to Cannavaro if that’s the case,” Wenger said on Friday. “But for me there is only one candidate this year, it is Thierry Henry. He deserves it.”

In hindsight, this is a fair argument. Henry appeared in both major world football events during 2006 and despite being on the losing side in both the World Cup and Champions League finals, reaching both is a testament to the man. Henry is widely regarded as the best striker in world football in recent seasons. Always the leading shooter in the English Premiership and considered one of the best to ever set foot on these shores, so perhaps for once Mr. Wenger saw something, going on to say: “What does he have to do? He just keep going. Sometimes you’ll be rewarded when you least expect it. That’s also the sign of a super champion.”

Other possible contenders are quite scarce on the ground. Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o was at his best helping propel his team to titles in both La Liga and the Champions League, although missing out on the summer football festival due to Cameroon failing to qualify didn’t help. to his cause, nor did he. the long-standing knee injury that will keep the striker sidelined until the new year. Portuguese midfielder Deco is another of those who has been mentioned in relation to the award. The diminutive tug-of-war was seen as having been, if not more, vital than Ronaldinho to Barcelona’s success last term. Another option, and for the romantics, would be for the award to go to Zinedine Zidane. The mercurial French finally hung up his golden boots over the summer after dragging his nation to the final. Some commanding performances from what di Stefano dubbed ‘the master’ earned Zizou the World Cup’s Ballon d’Or for being the tournament’s most outstanding player. However, we all know how he ended and, headers aside, the midfielder had a relatively poor season with Real Madrid.

All things considered, I feel like I’m talking very much about the competitors in a race already won. From a personal perspective, I find this somewhat disappointing, as it appears to be the closest competition for the award in a long time. It’s not that I don’t perceive Cannavaro as a worthy winner, we have to go back to Franz Beckenbauer in 1976 to find our last defender to win the award in a roll of honor dominated by players more accused of creating and scoring. goals instead of stopping them. Similarly, it would seem that given our three perceived favorites of Cannavaro, Buffon and Henry, only one is a striker. Perhaps a reflection of the changing face of football? Perhaps simply a reflection of an Italian victory in the World Cup? Either way, it is sad to me that such a prestigious award is not announced with all the pomp and ceremony that the eventual winner would undoubtedly deserve.