There was no surprise that Cristiano Ronaldo won his third Ballon d’Or on Monday. His season has been absolutely astonishing so far. The only blot he has had all year was the World Cup. But playing with a bunch of “over the top”, mediocre Portugese players is hardly Ronaldo’s fault. A player can not win matches by himself, so what is the point of hailing one player, when football is very much a team sport? How do you rate one player as being better than another?
Of course it is a nice thing to commemorate excellent players for their performances on the pitch. Of course Ronaldo deserves it. But what is the Ballon d’Or anyway? Well for FIFA, it is an excellent opportunity to shift focus away from all the negative cases surrounding the organization this past year. Showcasing FIFA and their sponsors as the main drive for creating these amazing players. Showing how FIFA is promoting this sport worldwide, and how none of this would be possibly without the wealth and influence of FIFA.
It almost looks like Sepp Blatter is gloating out to the world: “Look what we have created, a fantastic bunch of players. This is why FIFA is important.” When in fact, what has made this sport one the biggest brands in the world, what has made football a worldwide phenomenon, and in the end what has made it possible for the development of these players, is simply the fans. It would not be possible for Real Madrid to buy and develop the world’s best football players if tens of thousands of people did not pay to come to football matches. It would not be possible if millions did not watch the matches on TV, and pay money for their merchandise.
So shouldn’t there be an award show to vote for the best supporter in the world? Well, no, because nobody would watch that, would they? Who cares if a 52 year old plumber from Birmingham gets an award for holding a season ticket at Aston Villa, despite their awful home form and inability to score goals? The point is, I don’t think that many football supporters care alot about the Ballon d’Or either. I don’t think Real Madrid fans all over the world celebrated Ronaldo’s great achievement. I think Real Madrid fans care if Ronaldo can help the club win real trophies. Trophies that actually matter to fans.
Ian Macintosh wrote a very good piece regarding this award in his coloumn for ESPN. He pointed out that the point was lost, because you can not compare Manuel Neuer’s performance as a goalkeeper, to Cristiano Ronaldos ability as a striker. It would be like a company comparing an engineer to an accountant based on their performances. It can not be done because these are two completely different jobs.
There are many points to made about the Ballon d’Or: Hodgson’s vote for Mascherano is an enigma in itself, Barcelona threatened not to send their players to the award because of their punishment from FIFA for signing players too young, and of course Ronaldo’s howling as he received the award. But the point it to not get to hung about an award, which in the end does not really mean anything. Football is a team sport, and the real achievements are the awards handed out after a team has won a big competition or a league trophy. Those are the trophies that do matter to the fans, and should matter for the players as well.
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