Even Cherchesov was there.
The main football party of the season - the FIFA The Best ceremony - took place on Monday in London. The main people of world football (with the exception of) flocked to England to find out the player of the year, the scorer of the best goal, the coach of the year, the goalkeeper of the year, the best football player, the coach of the women's team and the symbolic team of the year.
Stanislav Cherchesov is serious - apparently he doesn’t know what’s in the coaches’ vote.
Pierluigi Collina was calm and elegant - something he is remembered for in his work as something completely different.
Dani Alves in style. This is the case when you don’t immediately pay attention to the player’s companion.
Didier Drogba looked like a real Hollywood actor.
Fair Play Award received by Lennart T from Erzurum.
Team of the Year according to FIFA The Best.
Brazil star Marta became footballer of the year.
A player of the year– Luka Modric.
Modric came to the ceremony with his family - they saw the main triumph in Luka's career.
The best football player of the year is determined according to two main versions. The first is the Ballon d'Or, which has been awarded by France Football magazine since 1956. The second version is FIFA, the prize has been awarded by the federation since 1991.
In 2010, the awards were combined and called the FIFA Ballon d'Or. For five years the trophy was awarded to Messi or Ronaldo. In 2015, the prizes were divided again - the Ballon d'Or returned to France Football, and the FIFA prizes are now called The Best.
For the first time since 2007, the winner of one of the main awards in world football was not Messi or Ronaldo. The last person to steal the prizes for the best player from them was Milan striker Kaka - Messi was then second, and Ronaldo was third.
As a rule, all football events related to the presentation of awards turn out to be as dull and drawn-out as possible. Long gatherings of all the characters, endless cuts of moments, extreme pathos. A total of 10 minutes are spent on presenting the awards - this is what everyone gathers for and watches the broadcasts of the events.
This time FIFA managed to do something atypical for football world. A party that was fun to watch. The broadcast began with the green track stage (an alternative to the red track). The guests were greeted by several presenters and asked a variety of questions. Azara And Modric asked about the suits: the Belgian came in something unusual for his football life a red suit, and the Croatian had a huge medallion attached to his jacket. Design told the stories of the photographs of the present from Pele on Instagram and commented on his signature celebration. There was a separate zone for Brazilians. Its host was Leila Anna-Lee: a journalist whose father is English and whose mother is Brazilian. If a friend asks for a journalist’s Instagram, then here it is:
Marcelo came to Anna-Lee with the children, and the eldest was quickly explained where he could find the ball. The boy quickly got his bearings, threw the ball between the operator’s legs, and then ran past Seedorf in vain. Clarence openly grabbed the boy and immediately let go with a laugh. For the first time, the gala evening acquired the atmosphere not of a dull obligatory celebration, but of a get-together for people where you can relax.
It was a special pleasure to watch the broadcast for those who were born at least in the 90s. Our entire childhood was spent in front of cameras. Sanetti, Roberto Carlos, Schmeichel(two persons), and Ronaldo, Cafe. Marcel Desailly in fashionable glasses. Shaved bald Drogba. Luckily, not shaved bald Ballack. Flashed Alexey Smertin And Rinat Dasaev.
Unfortunately, two of the main guests missed the FIFA party. Ronaldo refused to come because of the Juventus match in midweek. Messi- for family reasons. FIFA, according to sources in the Spanish newspaper Marca, condemned the absence of both and stated that it discredits football.
But quite unexpectedly we found ourselves at the festival Noel Gallagher(Oasis) and sir with his son and grandson. The elder Stewart eventually even went on stage wearing a scarf from his beloved Huddersfield.
Another difference is the brisk pace of the presentation itself. The main disadvantage is usually that the organizers try to prolong the ceremonial part. Endless ensembles are called, videos are played, congratulatory speeches are read. This time the program was started by rapper Big Shaq with his hit Man’s not hot. In the middle of the track, according to the script, the performer was dragged off the stage by stewards, and instead he came out. The British actor spent a couple of minutes joking: he staged a sketch presenting a prize for best goal according to the VAR system. And then they just started presenting prizes in a row.
The best goal was unexpectedly given away Salah. Unexpectedly, because among the contenders were two overhead kicks from Ronaldo and Bale and the author’s version of a scorpion kick from Riley McGree. Not to mention Pavard's crazy shot in the 2018 World Cup match against Argentina. In short, a strange choice, but Salah was pleased.
Predictably, he was recognized as the best goalkeeper, and the Belgian very elegantly thanked his former Chelsea partners for this award. A little earlier, the Real Madrid goalkeeper asked FIFA to think about the award for the best save. “I’ll definitely take her,” Thibault promised to the laughter of the audience.
With a better coach it turned out even more impressive. Frenchman Wenger declared the Frenchman the winner Deschamps, whom the Frenchman Zidane had to let onto the stage.
There is also a minus: FIFA is already outright overkill with bonuses. They award it for just about everything that can be awarded for. There's even a nomination best fans, in which the Peruvians won this time. The Latin American delegation came out to the microphones contentedly and even made a little noise. But it was precisely because of such episodes that the evening ended up seeming protracted.
There are certain questions about the symbolic team of the year.
De Gea in goal, Salah is not in the lineup at all. Kamon, not a single Liverpool player in the squad!
The most emotional moment came with the presentation of the award for the best female football player. Brazilian Marta could not hold back her tears when she gave her speech.
What's bad about Ronaldo's absence is that the element of the show is lost. Modric and Salah are two football nerds who can only thank everyone for their support. The victory went to the Croatian. In perfect Eastern European English, amid shouts of “Bravo, Luka,” he did not say a single unexpected word. He called Salah and Cristiano great and said that he was experiencing incredible emotions. I thanked my Real Madrid and national team partners and coaches. Marcelo had a blast filming Luca’s speech on his iPhone. But Modric repeated his thanks in Spanish and Croatian.
FIFA is still just learning how to make cheerful parties, but it’s already working out well. All that remains is to turn the main ceremony of the year - the presentation of the Ballon d'Or - into something cheerful.
In two months, FIFA will name the best player of 2018 and the past season. “Sokker.ru” suggests not to lag behind – we’ll put the top ten in their places.
FIFA will select the best player in the period from July 3, 2017 to July 15, 2018 - for the last season, taking into account the -18 World Cup, at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London on September 24. Captains and head coaches of national teams, journalists and visitors to the official UEFA website each have 25% influence on the result. Voting will last until August 10th, so if you want your choice to be taken into account, vote.
What about the final ten? As often happens, the emphasis is on attacking players. We have nothing against guys with goals, but was Varane the only one who showed himself to be one of the destroyers? However, all the main favorites are here. You can stand up for Kante - Ngolo deserved a moment of glory, but the Frenchman did not best player year. Neither Courtois - an average season for Chelsea and a good World Cup, nor Pogba - a similar situation with Thibaut, nor Neymar - you know why, would have topped this top ten.
10th place. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
There are too many failures and no personal growth to rank a great player higher based on the results of the 2017/18 season. FIFA noted the status and the Golden Boot. But how did the decisive matches between his Barcelona and the Argentina national team end? If in the second case he took them to at least the World Cup -18, he woke up several times against Nigeria and France - he scored and provided assists, then with the Catalans he took the Spanish championship, but again failed the season in the Champions League. Lionel is a great player, but this is not his year.
9th place. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
It’s convenient for the forward to play in Tottenham; Pochettino’s team is built in such a way that Kane’s obvious problems with playing in decisive matches are not noticeable. But at the World Cup, where he took a penalty and successfully substituted the ball, Harry had a disastrous playoff. Shearer joked well - Kane received the World Cup Golden Boot, so now he can talk about it for thirty years, as Lineker does. But Harry played for Barcelona, not just Spurs. And Harry, although he is highly rated, has not convinced Real that he is wonderful and not just good.
8th place. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Varane won the Champions League and the World Championship. In one year, only a few collected such a series - besides the Germans from Bayern in 1974, there are only Real Madrid players different years– Karambe, Roberto Carlos, Khedira, and now Varan. Rafa has grown, grown noticeably, and although it is easier for him in the national team - Umtiti plays better than Ramos in Real Madrid, in the new season, the success of the “cream” in defense in difficult matches depends on Varane, because Sergio is getting old. Not to say that Varane is already great, but the world champion does not look out of place in the top ten.
7th place. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Where did Chelsea finish the season? In fifth place, outside the Champions League. Barcelona were eliminated from the prestigious tournament - and even Roma managed to pass it. Hazard scored 12 goals and provided 4 assists in the Premier League, but is more likely to be included in this list due to the failures of Neymar, Messi and company at the World Cup -18, and also due to his medal game. But when Hazard played decently against France, Belgium did not reach the final. So Eden is not the first in the world. Maybe next season it will be higher? It all depends on Sarri - if the player stays in London, or on Real - if he leaves.
6th place. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Let me remind you once again that we are talking about the rating for the season, and not based on the results of one World Cup. Although even at the tournament, Kylian was not always as good as in his scoring episodes. Of course, when we adjust for age, the eyes become like those of Donatello or Raphael - those of the Ninja Turtles. The Frenchman has everything ahead. But Mbappe was not the main one at PSG - Neymar and Cavani helped a lot there, and in the French national team - like in Deschamps' communal apartment, dinner was prepared in turns. The defenders, midfielders Kante and Pogba, and the official leader Griezmann helped. Mbappe is also handsome, but if we take the whole season, then Kylian is still on the threshold of the top five.
5th place. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
He was close to the top three, but then he met first Ramos and then Ignashevich. Sergio stopped him illegally, Sergei stopped him within the bounds of decency, but after the shoulder injury that knocked out the Egyptian. Cooper's team expected to qualify from the group, but lost all three matches. This failure does not allow us to forget about Salah’s wonderful achievement in the Premier League - 32 goals in the championship, Liverpool’s performance in the Champions League - they reached the final. But if we sum it all up, Salah cannot be higher, because he could have won, but lost.
4th place. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)
He held a solid World Cup and won the Europa League. But Antoine did not always play like the best football player on the planet and year. He had a bad start at Atlético - he swayed for a long time, although later he went on to score goals and ended up hitting the goal 19 times and providing assists another 9 times. The arrival of Diego Costa helped, but what helped us more was the understanding that this time we cannot reach the final with France and lose. And since it was Griezmann’s cunning that started the decisive game with Croatia - he earned a free kick and scored with the help of Mandzukic, and according to the “goal plus pass” system, the Frenchman was first at the World Cup -18, his place in the top five is without question.
3rd place. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
We remember that the best player has been chosen since July 2017! Tactical geeks would put Kevin first and find arguments. In this top ten, only De Bruyne significantly influenced the development of football as an art in the past season. Only the midfielder, with the support of Guardiola, changed his position and set a new vector - a vertical attack. Although Kevin judiciously stated that Belgium would not be able to play like Manchester City, transitions between zones along the shortest route were also practiced at the 18 World Cup. De Bruyne would have won if he had reached the Champions League final instead of Liverpool or instead of France - in the final with Croatia.
2nd place. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Most likely they will reward Ronaldo. People with the right to vote will take into account that at an advanced age he contributed to the victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, goals in the Champions League playoffs, including that very blow to Juventus. He is also again the best sniper in the Champions League, 26 goals in 27 games in La Liga, won the fifth Champions Cup in his life, scored in 10 Champions League games in a row, and became the oldest scorer of a hat-trick at the World Cup - against Spain. As a killing machine against someone else's defense, Ronaldo is impeccable. But he is not the only one responsible for Real's victories. And the World Cup didn’t turn out the way Euro 2016 did – it again didn’t help Portugal in the playoffs. Of course, in terms of personal brightness he is the main one in the top five, but he is hardly the sole best of this particular year.
1st place. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
It was not difficult for Griezmann to win the Europa League and become second in the Spanish Championship with Atlético, when Real Madrid was much worse in play than in results in European competition. About as easy as winning the Champions League with Los Blancos, having failed the season in Primera. That is, in terms of club performances, these players have equality - Antoine played worse than Kokorin at the very beginning of the season (no joke), and Luka has known stronger seasons for Real. But Griezmann represents the great football country, also repeated the historical achievement of the generation of Deschamps and Zidane, and Modric surpassed the performance of Boban and Suker - he reached the World Cup final. Modric played incredibly cool and deserves respect. Moreover, in 2018, the logic of those years that saw the success of Iniesta and Xavi applies. Just as it became more difficult for Messi without them, Ronaldo did not drag Real to the cups alone, Kroos and Modric are great to the same extent.
Readers' opinions. Is it difficult to choose the best?
For Ronaldo's personal fans, everything is simple - for them he is the best. But who will try to analyze the whole year, connect different important elements and find a thorough winner - the fly will not answer. This year, absolutely all the candidates are not without sin, so the elections are unique - the most exciting in the last eight years, since 2010, when Messi and Ronaldo did not win in South Africa, and there were also other great contenders for victory in a similar poll for the Ballon d'Or "
Messi won then, but his lead over Iniesta and Xavi was small and not very understood by many, not to mention Sneijder's lead. Ronaldo will win now, and he will also take home the 2018 Ballon d'Or later if he makes a strong start with Juventus in the fall. But with all due respect to the great athlete, it is unlikely that his victory in 2018 will be appropriate and unambiguous. There was the World Cup - an epoch-making event of the year, and you know its heroes. Do not limit yourself to the official list if you think that FIFA experts have neglected other worthy ones, but offer your top three, five or ten.
The ceremony took place in London
On Monday, September 24, FIFA announced the winners of the annual The Best FIFA Football Awards. The ceremony took place in London, which FIFA previously called “passionate football city in a country with a great football heritage." The event was hosted by British actor Idris Elba and French journalist Anne-Laure Bonnet. During the ceremony, Noel Gallagher, a native of football Manchester.
Awards were given in seven categories of the year - best football player, best female football player, best men's coach, best women's coach, best goalkeeper, the best goal, for fair play and the best fan action. A symbolic team consisting of the best football players was also named
Best player of the year. This prestigious award went to Luka Modric. Last season he won the Champions League with Real Madrid. In addition, he was recognized as the best player of last season according to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The captain of the Croatian national team was also named the best player of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
The Footballer of the Year is selected based on the results of a vote in which head coaches and captains of national teams of FIFA countries, as well as journalists and fans on the Internet, take part. This year, the final three candidates included: Real Madrid and Croatia national team midfielder Luka Modric, Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo, and Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Salah.
For the first time since 2006, the Argentine striker of Barcelona Lionel Messi, who was recognized as the best football player by FIFA five times, was not included in the final list of candidates.
The best football player of the year. Best player in women's football Brazilian Marta was recognized. This is already the sixth prize in her career. She has already become the best football player on the planet in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
Norwegian Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) and German Jennifer Marozan (Lyon) also competed for the title of best female footballer of the year.
Best goal of the year. The award was received by the English striker football club Liverpool Mohamed Salah for a goal against another Liverpool club, Everton. Salah reached the Champions League final with Liverpool in the 2017/18 season. He became top scorer English Championship, scoring 32 goals.
The award named after the outstanding Hungarian football player Ferenc Puskás has been awarded since 2008 for the most beautiful goal. The list of candidates included Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Lionel Messi, Garrett Bale, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Georgian de Arrascaeta, Riley McGree, Benjamin Pavar, Ricardo Quaresma, Denis Chernyshev.
The best goalkeeper. The best goalkeeper of the year was the Belgian Thibaut Courtois, who defended the goal of the national team at the 2018 World Cup. Previously, he was recognized as the best goalkeeper at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
World champion Frenchman Hugo Lloris, Belgian Thibaut Courtois and Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel competed for the title of best goalkeeper.
The best coach of the men's team. The best coach was named French football legend Didier Deschamps, who led the team to victory at the World Cup this year. He received the FIFA award from the hands of another legendary Frenchman who coached London's Arsenal, Arsene Wenger.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
The final three candidates for the prize for the best coach of men's teams also included head coach Croatian national team Zlatko Dalic and former coach of the Spanish Real Madrid Zinedine Zidane.
The best coach of the women's team. It was Reynald Pedros, the head coach of the French Lyon. Together with Olympique, Pedros won the 2017/2018 Women's Champions League, beating Wolfsburg in the final with a score of 4:1 in extra time.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
Japan national team coach Asako Takakura and Netherlands national team head coach Sarina Wiegman were also in contention for the best women's coach.
FIFA Fair Play Award. This award is given for the most fair game. This season it was awarded to the German football player, VVV Venlo striker Lennart Tee. Seven years ago, Ti, who was then playing for Werder Bremen, donated blood for people suffering from leukemia. This year it turned out that his DNA sample matched that of a patient with the disease, and the footballer agreed to donate blood to make a stem cell transplant possible. He was absent from training for a week during the procedure, but the club supported him.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
The best fan action. The FIFA prize went to Peruvian fans for their active support of the national team at the 2018 World Cup. This year, 40 thousand fans from the distant Latin American country came to Russia.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
Also competing for this title were fans of the national teams of Japan and Senegal, who were remembered for cleaning up trash after themselves in stadiums, as well as a fan of the Chilean club Deportes Puerto Montt, Sebastian Carrera, who traveled three thousand kilometers to attend the match of his favorite team. A guest stand was opened especially for him, where he was alone.
Symbolic team of the year. The FIFA Team of the Year was also announced. Goalkeeper: David de Gea. Defenders: Dani Alves, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo. Midfielders: Modric, Kante, Hazard. Forwards: Mbappe, Ronaldo, Messi.
How the ceremony went
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not attend the ceremony. Messi was only nominated for the best goal award this year. According to Spanish media, he stayed home for personal reasons.
Portuguese Juventus player Cristiano Ronaldo also ignored the presentation. He couldn't make it to London due to his busy schedule. On September 23, Juventus played a match in the Italian championship, and the next meeting in the domestic championship will take place on September 26.
Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Salah, who was nominated for the title, arrived at the ceremony best football player and the author of the most beautiful goal said that all goals are important for him, but most of all last season he remembered the goal against Liverpool Everton.
Photo: fifa.com
Former player of the German national team and such clubs as Bayern, Chelsea and Bayer 04, player Michael Ballack, arrived at the ceremony with his other half. When asked who he considers the best player, Ballack noted that it is a difficult choice, but he singles out Luka Modric.
Photo: fifa.com
Spain and Real Madrid player Sergio Ramos walked along the famous green path with his wife Pilar Rubio.
Photo: fifa.com
During the award ceremony, Noel Gallagher, one of the founders of the legendary British group Oasis and leader of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds today. By the way, a native of Manchester football is an active fan. He once named the symbolic rock band from famous football players. Lead guitar - Zinadine Zidane, bass guitar - Patrick Vieira, drums - Mario Balotelli, vocals - George Best.
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Photo: twitter.com/FIFAcom
Now one player can receive the “Golden Ball”, and the second in parallel the prize for the player of the year from FIFA. “Sokker.ru” is upset that the prestige of football’s most famous individual award could be killed. But there is a plus - you personally have the right to vote.
There are two awards again, as was the case before the prizes were combined. But then no one really took FIFA’s choice into account. People didn't remember whether Romario won or not, but everyone knew that Wea or Stoichkov had the Ballon d'Or. This prize from journalists was much more prestigious, but then Blatter came, played on the greed of the French and bought the right to present the prize from them, changed the rules, the time has begun for Ronaldo against Messi. Now the paths have diverged, but will it get better? Let's figure it out to determine who will retain the prestige and global recognition?
Pros of the Ballon d'Or
The original meaning has been returned. The prize was intended as a reward from specialists. They took it already, but deeper. Journalists chose the player of the year. And they will choose, because the French did not make a deal with FIFA and could not sell the rights for another couple of years. But at the same time, the main flaw of the overall “Golden Ball” of recent years was removed. Football players and national team coaches voted for the nominally strongest players. Or they named their all-time favorite player. I would like to believe that the winner of the 2016 Ballon d'Or will be chosen based on comparisons and not preferences.
Amateur voices and mistakes were excluded. Many complained that they voted for some and others received points. And why do you need the opinion of the coach of the Djibouti national team, who has been a fan of Barcelona or Real for ten years and does not understand that it is necessary to choose the best in a year? Now there are fewer “ballots”, and only journalists vote. There will be no more mistakes and confusion. And this is important because all recent surveys have included inconsistencies. Not productive, the margins of the winners were large, but the integrity of the election system was discredited a couple of times.
Determined by football analysts. Of course, everyone has favorite players, or at least those whom you sympathize with. But journalists watch so much of the same different football, that they have long been accustomed to assessing quality rather than relying on emotions. It’s hard to surprise a football journalist, but he’s not head over heels in love with just one player’s game.. Consequently, if Messi and Ronaldo voted for many years with their hearts and emotions, then journalists from different countries Now they will choose using logic.
Pros of "Best FIFA Player"
Your voice is important to Infantino! Gianni, although he became the leader of football hell, was always distinguished by his ability to win over the public. He makes a nice Lucifer. That's why FIFA President approved the idea of involving fans in voting– now you choose the best player of the year. Of course, you are not given the right to do this alone, but it just made it more fun!
Interesting election system. So now there are four different categories voting. Coaches, captains of national teams, journalists from all over the world in the amount of about two hundred and fans. It’s funny if the journalists are the same as in the case of the Ballon d’Or elections, but the point here is different. The influence of each category is the same – 25%. In other words, if trolls around the world vote Paul Pogba first among fans, and journalists vote him thirtieth, he won't be first. The votes will be converted into proportions and the percentages will be added up. It is possible to balance inadequate votes, and similarly protect against the always possible hacker attack or purchased “bots”.
The ability to put on a show. Everyone knows the address of the FIFA website, all the media in the world will write about voting - you go and choose yourself. You will become part of the show! Then in January the stars will be invited to the ceremony and prizes will be handed out. What can journalists do with the Ballon d'Or? They don’t have the opportunity to organize an expensive show, and those who lose won’t go to it. There will be a winner and a prize - it’s boring, the spectacle factor is lost, it’s unlikely that all the best players in the world will come to Paris at the beginning of December. And why?
Cons of the Ballon d'Or
The status of the jury has changed. When the Ballon d'Or was first established, journalists watched more football, than fans, there were no broadcasts, and reporters went to important matches of the Champions Cup, had access to live action throughout Europe, unlike fans. They were guides in an age without the Internet. That is, everyone was looking forward to the announcement of the winner, like a gift under the Christmas tree - did they help you understand who was the coolest of the year? Over time, this trump card was lost. Why should you trust journalists who are included in the France Football list?
Chauvinism and elitism. This is just a suspicion for now, of course. But it cannot be ruled out that the decision not to make a discount for FIFA in the negotiations is connected with France’s desire to see Griezmann as the player of the year, not Ronaldo, who lost the finals to Cristiano’s teams. Of course, since the commission is international, it is difficult to “push through” Antoine’s candidacy. But there is another disadvantage when experts vote - they want to show off. That is, there will be years when they will vote in spite of the glory hunters and the conditional Messi and Ronaldo will be pushed aside. Is this fair? Not always. Moreover, there have already been cases when the publication did everything to prevent a particular player from receiving a prize.
Poor idea development. “France Football” should have chosen the moment for parting better; it turned out to be spontaneous in the middle of the year, since they simply did not agree on a contract extension. And now there is a risk that the Ballon d'Or and its prestige will be buried. Likely, A clever idea with fan votes will appeal to fans from all over the world. In addition, FIFA selects the best female player, the national team of the year - and with the help of professional football players, best trainers for women and men, a prize for fair play is given. As soon as journalists vote demonstrably unfairly once and give out the Golden Ball for the wrong reasons, people will say that the prize means nothing.
Cons of "FIFA Best Player"
Club lobbying. On December 2, we will be given three finalists. Do you think Ronaldo, Bale and Griezmann will definitely be there? Why not Cristiano, Lionel and Suarez, for example? Or Neymar in general, because it’s difficult to predict the logic of four categories of voters at once. Consequently, every time journalists forget a weak football player promoted by agents, he can simultaneously receive the “Best FIFA Player” prize. Not by voices, but because “it’s necessary.” FIFA, unfortunately, is a corrupt company, who knows how they will count there? They will show you the percentages and that's it. Take my word for it!
50% of the votes belong to the players and coaches. Let's say it like it is - football players and coaches are not always intellectuals. This is if it's soft. Moreover, they don’t always watch football, even if it sounds paradoxical. Even if they are paid millions for it, like Carragher or Shearer. Alan recently stated that Aguero is the only world-class player in the Premier League. De Bruyne, De Gea, Coutinho, Sanchez, Ozil, Hazard, Payet, it turns out that they are amateurs, where are they at the world level this year? And FIFA retained half of all votes from football players and coaches, who will again choose between Messi and Ronaldo. Journalists and fans will try to influence, but will they be able to?
Biased gloryhunters. Just for fun, the France Football website launched a fan vote. And it turned out to be an embarrassment. Riyad Mahrez was in the lead - the Arab world came and voted, followed by Ronaldo and Messi. It doesn’t matter that the Algerian is not the strongest player on the planet or year. I don’t care that Cristiano and Lionel have their own weaknesses this year. Gloryhunters came and voted. If they publish the results of the FIFA fan poll, you will see that the ethnic Turkish Ozil, thanks to the incredible activity of Turkish football fans online, may have more votes than Griezmann. Well, or Mahrez will be the player of the year. After all, don’t forget that according to a Russian poll, Akinfeev turned out to be the most popular in the country, 14% of respondents sympathized with him. Democracy is an insidious thing if it ends up in stupid hands.
Who is cooler and more prestigious?
An amazing case, we broke even - we summed up the pros and cons and see that the score is a draw. We immediately note that if Infantino in his FIFA top three gets the same result as the journalists in the 2016 Ballon d'Or, he will seize the initiative at the expense of the budget. If there are two prizes that will be given out in the same way, then the one with the gala performance will win. And the editors of France Football are to blame for the humiliation of the prize. After all, the Ballon d'Or is their legacy. They sold it to Blatter for millions of euros, but did not think about the consequences. The prize should have been given away for three years, not six. And when Sneijder, Iniesta, Ribery - heroes of specific years - were tested, it was necessary to take away the Ballon d'Or, create a big scandal, and win over the people to their side. And sell it to UEFA, emphasizing that prestige is more important than money. That is, the reward was spoiled by greed, roughly speaking. And only then the stupidity of those who chose the same ones.
Now French journalists have been forced to take on greater responsibility. For example, if Ronaldo takes the “Best FIFA Player” (and he will), and Griezmann takes the “Golden Ball”, then it is not a fact that everyone will go over to the side of journalists. It's a difficult year to choose. It’s easy to find fault with absolutely all candidates. Ronaldo won titles? And Messi scored goals while Cristiano was being worked on. Griezmann - well done? And Bale also looked good, like Suarez with the Golden Boot. What is it, even Ramos and Pepe are important for the titles of Real Madrid and Portugal, why is Ronaldo singled out on the basis of titles when he himself played worse than he can? It was such a year - there is no one who deserved it much more than the rest. That is, the trio of Ronaldo, Griezmann and Bale will find their fans, just like the trio of Griezmann, Ronaldo, Messi, for example.
We get an important conclusion - FIFA and France Football jointly destroyed the once most prestigious, important individual award football world. There is no longer a prize that has helped dozens of football players gain international recognition. So, the people will choose. Over time, only one of these prizes will achieve cult status, you'll see. In the meantime, you can vote yourself. If your favorite wins, if you guess all three, you'll know you're involved. And then the argument will begin: who is more objective, more prestigious, more interesting, “Golden Ball” or “Best FIFA Player”? Messi and Ronaldo fans killed the idea of Gabriel Ano, and the organizers of the survey actively helped in this. A division has occurred, it’s time to choose who you trust more? Only journalists or the FIFA coalition - national team captains, coaches, journalists and fans? And in general, who will you vote for? Name your top three!
