In a glitzy ceremony in Zurich last week, Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d’Or, FIFA’s award for the best player of the year. And in 2013, the Real Madrid attacker seemed to stand out from the pack, above competitors Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery. However, there was quite a bit of contention in the build-up to the ceremony as to how Ronaldo might get the award.
The most notable thing is that the voting period was actually extended by a number of days, which coincided with the Portuguese national team’s qualification play-off battle for the World Cup, in which Ronaldo single-handedly dragged his team into next summer’s showpiece event. Before then, the award may very well have been up for grabs at that point. Both Messi and Ribery had achieved great personal success up, with Barcelona ace Messi winning Spain’s La Liga — by a massive 15 points over Ronaldo’s Real Madrid — while leading the league in goals, and Ribery winning a glut of trophies with Bayern Munich, including the German Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League.
But somehow, FIFA decided to extend the balloting because “not enough votes had been received,” a curious excuse considering the timing of the World Cup qualifiers coupled with Messi’s injury troubles. In the end, though, the voting was the closest in the history of the award, leaving the debate open: is Ronaldo now the best player in the world, or did he just happen to do just enough in 2013 to take advantage of the incumbent, Messi, missing time through injury?
Leaving the Ballon d’Or aside for now, though, the other big part of the ceremony was the announcement of the FIFPro, he player’s union, World XI, their best “starting lineup” of eleven players of 2013. Some of the choices made were simple enough: Ribery, Ronaldo and Messi all made the cut, while Ribery’s club teammate Manuel Neuer deservedly took the spot as goalkeeper of this team. However, some of the selections made in this team were rather puzzling.
For example, Bayern captain Philipp Lahm, probably the best right-back in the world, was listed as the team’s left-back despite not playing there at all in 2013. Indeed, he has featured heavily in midfield under new coach Pep Guardiola, finding a new edge to the German’s game while revitalizing the career of backup right-back Rafinha. In Lahm’s place came Barcelona’s Dani Alves, a right-back by name only as he attacks more than he defends. His defensive liability has been a thorn in Barca’s side as teams with players skillful enough to take him on have done so effectively, none more obvious than Ribery himself who manhandled the Catalan side in the Champions League semifinals.
This strange inclusion meant there was no spot for fellow Bayern standout David Alaba, a burgeoning left-back talent who was a fantastic revelation at the spot having been a midfielder as a youth player. His balanced play complemented Lahm perfectly as the Bavarian giants romped to multiple titles over the last year, effectively shackling top-class attackers from Barcelona and domestic rival Borussia Dortmund. To be pushed off the squad by a player who doesn’t perform his primary duty is a travesty. There was also the confusing honor for Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, who is more known for racking up red cards than he is for being a world-class defender. He may very well be, but putting him in this spot over a guy who had a great year — say, Bayern’s Dante — is ridiculous.
Noticing a theme here? How Bayern won so many honors in 2013, yet its players are mysteriously underrepresented in favor of more “established names” from Spain’s dynamic duo? Noting that Bayern demolished one of the two, 7-0 over two matches, before defeating Dortmund — who themselves got the better of Madrid in both the group stage and in the other semifinal — in the Champions League, it’s hard to justify much of this. Indeed, the aging Xavi, still a top-class player in his own right, was somehow selected over Bayern’s powerful midfielders in Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez, as well as players who have had spectacular individual seasons like Yaya Toure of Manchester City and Juventus’ Arturo Vidal.
The whole point that I’m getting at is this: blind statistics and name recognition can only get you so far, and there’s a need for these to be put aside in favor of a more collective approach. Which players were standout performers, both as individuals and as team players? For the teams that achieved successes, who led the way? Was a team’s lack of success a consequence of a certain player? These questions need to be asked if we are to truly judge who deserves accolades like those given out in Zurich.
Sure, Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal to a 4-2 aggregate triumph over Sweden to get into the World Cup. But Ribery, on top of his club success, inspired his French side to Brazil in a 3-0 victory to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg. Considering how subpar Real Madrid were for much of 2013, given their massive deficit in the league plus losses in the domestic cup final and the Champions League, could it not be argued that Ribery had the better 2013?
According to voters, Cristiano’s 69 goals in 59 games combined with poor performances in big matches — until the voting deadline was extended — outweighed Ribery’s 22 goals, 28 assists and frequent inspirational play to go with his five club trophies. In addition, Ribery was handed The Union of European Football Associations’ Best Player in Europe award in August, based off the prior season’s performances, in a landslide over Messi and Ronaldo.
In the end, there’s not much we can do about any of this. The Ballon d’Or is voted on by players, coaches and media representatives, and the World XI is voted on by players, so they do get a first-hand look at who does what over the course of the year. But given some of the odd picks and snubs, it makes you wonder what’s going through their heads as they make their decisions.
