The most famous of the awards given to the player of the year has found its “new” owner. And leaving many questions behind…
Have been organizing by France Football magazine since 1956, The Ballon d’Or remains the most prestigious yet controversial award in the football world. The French award that was choosing the player of the year in Europe until 1995, has brought together famous football players from all over the world since then. As a result of voting by journalists, national team coaches and captains, not only winning but also being in the ranking can be considered an unforgettable success. On the other hand, as we have seen closely in 2021, it is quite possible to think that some people have been frustrated. If you wish, let’s first take a look at some of the “unconvincing” awards in the Ballon d’Or history…
The first prize awarded to English Michael Owen in 2001, were the most serious injustice according to some. Owen became a star with a total of 24 goals by winning the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA Cup with Liverpool. He surpassed Spanish scorer Raul Gonzalez, who carried Real Madrid to a much higher-profile Champions League victory as the top scorer. Luis Figo, who won the first prize of the millennium in 2000, would later say that the first place was actually the right of Italian Francesco Totti and would send him the message “I’m sorry I stole the Ballon d’Or from you in 2000”. The awards of Igor Belanov against Gary Lineker in 1986, Pavel Nedved against Thierry Henry in 2003, and Lionel Messi against Iniesta and Xavi in 2010, always raised some questions.
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, the most successful name in the history of the organization, won the seventh Ballon d’Or last week and took us back to the controversial days. So much so that many football lovers wanted the first place of Robert Lewandowski who deserved the award that was not given in 2020 due to the pandemic and continued from where he left off in 2021. The Polish striker had not touched the biggest of the individual awards in his career, where he broke goal records with Bayern Munich and did not leave any cups. However, Copa America championship changed the situation thanks to top scorer Messi who has been criticized for years of failure in the national team. Again, the familiar result was found in the envelope on which the last name was written. Lewa won the “Striker of the Year” award, given for the first time this year but he was deemed worthy of only one honorable mention according to the general opinion.
Even Lionel Messi said that the Ballon d’Or, which was not given in 2020, should actually have been won by the Polish striker. He did this on the podium for his first-place speech. However, the football community was filled with voices rising that 2021 was also dubious. For example, Messi’s great rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five times France Football’s golden ball, commented “Facts” under a social media post stating that the award was unfair. Lewandowski’s teammate Thomas Muller described the situation as “definitely a disappointment.” Liverpool’s outspoken manager, Jurgen Klopp, said that “You can always give it to Messi for his career, but if you don’t give it to Robert Lewandowski at this time, after this year, it’s quite tricky for anyone else to get it.”
Of course, there were those who sided with Messi and those who argued that the award was fully deserved. According to Xavi, there is no injustice although he is considered one of the greatest players to have never won a Ballon d’Or and owes this unlucky title mostly to the presence of his former teammate Messi. The new coach of Barcelona commented on the Argentine legend’s seventh win with these words: “I think it’s football justice. He is the best footballer in the world, and the best of all time. And he deserves this seventh award. No doubt about it. We may think that maybe Lewandowski also deserved it, or other players, but this is the same debate every year. Back in the days, people also asked the trophy to be awarded to me or to Iniesta. The moment they open the envelope, and they say Messi won it, then it’s fair.”
