OT - Ballon d'Or Award being presented today for best soccer player of 2015
Soccer's equivilent award to CFB's Heisman Trophy is being presented today. I know there are a few in the "mgocommunity" that follow soccer, so I thought I'd 1. Get everybodys thoughts or predictions on who you think might win it. And 2. Does anybody know if this would be televised?
I am going to say Messi will, which would be his 5th time winning. But part of me wants Neymar, he is my sons sports idol, so I tend to pull for him as well. To me, as long as Ronaldo doesn't win. I just watched his movie / documentary, and it really has made me a fan of whomever he is up against.
I have provided a link below for anybody that might want more info
January 11th, 2016 at 10:57 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:01 AM ^
you are right....... But I guess I view the Heisman as a bit more distinguished than the NFL MVP. I was trying to talk the award up, not down.
My bad
January 11th, 2016 at 11:05 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:05 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
Ariaga II is a stone cold lock.
January 11th, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^
It'll be Messi...and he deserves it.
January 11th, 2016 at 11:15 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
... but Ronaldo is deserving. There is no denying his sheer output. You can argue the criteria for being selected (individual vs. team), but if you look at a combination of both, he's easily number 2. His team was in the Semis of the UCL (barely losing to Juventus) and they came in second by only 2 points in La Liga. He scored more goals than Messi and actually had a fair number of assists for him.
These things are arbitrary, but Ronaldo's year was fantastic. It's like saying Messi isn't one of the greatest because he hasn't won a World Cup. It's a stupid argument, IMO. That being said, Messi's year, if you look at soccer's equivalent of advanced stats, is easily the best. Throw on top of that the trophy haul, and it's a no brainer.
January 11th, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^
...interesting that Neymar will be there in the running as well, but it seems to me that (like Iniesta in the past couple of years) it would take an awful lot for a fellow-Barca player to distinguish themselves/surpass Messi's influence on the team.
that said, the torch will be passed to Neymar someday... just probably not today
January 11th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 12:55 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 1:26 PM ^
.... Suarez had some unbelievably important (and stunning) goals. It still doesn't take away from the absolute numbers.
Also, here are some stats outside of scoring and assists.
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/5583/History/Cristiano-Ronaldo
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/22221/History/Luis-Surez
A little hard to read, but basically says Ronaldo rated better in 2014/2015 season than Suarez.
January 11th, 2016 at 1:30 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
David Beckham
AMURRRRICA
/sarcasm
January 11th, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^
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January 11th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
But boy does Cristiano make up for it!!!
January 11th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 12:25 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^
What about that dude that's taken the EPL over playing for that no name club. His play is dashing. In all seriousness Messi should win this award every year that he's playing. He's my favorite to watch with Arjen Robben coming in second.
January 11th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
You think Jamie Vardy is the best player in the world? Come on, man. He isn't even the best playing on English soil right now.
January 11th, 2016 at 12:25 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
Brilliant deadpan British humor, this.
January 11th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^
Messi is the greatest player in the world, far and away. He also makes everyone around him better.
January 11th, 2016 at 12:58 PM ^
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January 11th, 2016 at 11:46 AM ^
Same people who complain about FIFA's corruption get all tingly in the pants over the Ballon D'or. IT'S THE SAME CROOKS RUNNING IT! Finally gave Blatter and Platini the boot no buying into this nonsense a few weeks later..
January 11th, 2016 at 11:58 AM ^
... if you believe there is a massive conspiracy to let those two players on those two teams score all the goals and win all the games. Now, mind you, that's entirely possible given we are talking about soccer, but you can't get upset with the fact that those two players are light years ahead of everybody else. We are witnessing a special time in soccer. You can think it's boring because of the lack in variability, but I choose to appreciate the historic rivalry with two of the greatest ever dominating on the world stage for the past 8 or 9 years.
January 11th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^
Your loss, man. What Messi and C. Ronaldo are producing are two of the greatest careers in the sport, on rival teams, putting up numbers that are absolutely otherworldly and were unheard of for 20 years before their emergence. When they retire, Messi and Ronaldo will likely rate as two of the five best to ever play the game. They are brilliant, they are exciting, and they are consistent.
Of course they are in the top three every year. Not including them would be like voting Karl Malone MVP over Michael Jordan because Michael had won enough. Their rivalry will be considered a golden era for the game on the field, the stuff people tell grandkids about decades later. Yeah, the parent organizations are hopelessly corrupt, but the best players? Yes they are.
January 11th, 2016 at 12:55 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 1:15 PM ^
You're waxing romantic about the working class and the rise-and-fall solidarity of underdog teams, and your example is... Chelsea?
January 11th, 2016 at 1:35 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 1:38 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 1:49 PM ^
My view of the Chelsea fanbase was established pre-2003, when it was known as a place where people went to be seen. Yeah, there are working-class supporters too, but Chelsea has never been any more distinctly working-class in its support than other typical English sides.
Your attempt to draw a contrast between Chelsea and Barcelona is odd. Real Madrid I can grant anyone; they were the club of Franco, they have always had every advantage that can be offered a sports franchise. But Barcelona were traditionally the club of an actively oppressed political and ethnic minority. Yes, they are currently as powerful and successful as any club in Europe, but it's not like they had the government of Spain pushing them along for most of their existence.
The entire idea that Football has some innate "working-class" quality as opposed to other sports (or other classes) is just absurd. It's a cover to put a sheen on what is otherwise just garden-variety us vs. them resentment. The best players in the world are in Spain, so reasoning is made to justify the resentment of it.
That's a pretty universal theme. I mean, I do that sometimes (particularly with the ultra-corrupt cheap dirty SEC, see what I mean?) but it can result in us only cheating ourselves out of the enjoyment of sports we follow when we get carried away.
I get annoyed at Christiano Ronaldo, too. But if I fail to appreciate how good he is at the game I only cheat myself, not him. And to suggest that Messi is just the same as Ronaldo is... well, foolish. Perfect? No, but an astonishing player.
January 11th, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^
When compared to other sports and their fans, yes football is working class. There will always be and us vs them concept in every social argument but when compared to cricket and rugby football very working-class. And the farther north you get in Britain away from London and the Home Counties the more edge football has. Draw a line east to west through Birmingham and anything North or South is drastically different from the other..
January 11th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^
If you're going to wax on about working-class teams at least pick a working-class team to support. Go Toffees! Bollocks to the Red Shite!
January 11th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^
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January 11th, 2016 at 2:08 PM ^
January 11th, 2016 at 2:08 PM ^