Top 5 nominees have to be - Messi Ronaldo Ribery Zlatan Suarez http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/news/newsid=2207371/index.html Not surprised to see Hazard becoming a fixture on these lists. Bale's weak form of late will make it tough to make the final cut.
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany) Thomas Muller (B Munich/Germany) Manuel Neuer (B Munich/Germany) Bastian Schweinsteiger (B Munich/Germany) Arjen Robben (B Munich/Netherlands) Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund/Poland) All above Suarez and actually also above Ibrahimovic (although individually a great player, no team success last year). Also, should all be above Ronaldo. Top three should be (in this order) Ribery, Schweinsteiger, Messi.
Lol, cmon. Technical ability and individual excellence factor heavily into winning the award, even if you're on a not so great team. Zlatan is like early career Wilt and Bayern are the Celtics, a big group of HOF but justifying one of them over Zlatan based on the variety of options around them doesn't come across as a valid argument. Strong late pushes by players have also proven influential in the past - see Marco Van Basten in '92. Will be hard to overtake Messi or Ribery, but Zlatan is doing big things. Suarez is an absolute animal, I would place him above all the Bundesliga players except Ribery and Schweinsteiger. Yaya is a guy who won't win, but easily the top DM in the world.
If ATW had his way you might as well change the name to the Bayern Munich player of the year award going forward. That's the equivelant of saying Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh should of been top 5 in the MVP voting as well since they are good players on the best team. Since their TEAM is having the most success, they should be placed over Kevin Durant. Since you know, his team hasn't accomplished as much as the Heat.
There are 6 Bayern players in the top 23, which is fair. Lewandowski also had a better season than, e.g., Ronaldo - in fact, Lewandowski almost single-handedly eliminated Ronaldo's team when it counted - 4 goals in one game. Ronaldo couldn't measure up to that. In contrast to NBA MVP awards, the football (soccer) awards are given after a full season, when the title has been decided. Do you seriously think that if the NBA MVP award were to be given AFTER the season, that it would be given to a player who didn't win the title? (Or at least who was in the NBA Finals?) I don't think so. The Champions League is what matters. The Ballon d'Or should - at least in non-World Cup or Euro seasons - go to a key player on the Champions League Title winner. Plus, it's boring to give it to the same guy all the time. Most talented? Yes, probably. But he shouldn't have won it in a year when Spain won the World Cup. He should also not win it this year. 0:7. Another point is that you guys - probably because some of you didn't grow up playing and watching football (soccer) - care too much about goals, and goals only. Messi and Ronaldo actually don't do crap when it comes to defense. They save all their energy for spotting up and scoring goals. This is why one famous player I recently talked to told me that he honestly thinks that at this point, Ribery is more valuable to his team than they are - because he has, in the past years, learned to work so hard on defense as well. It's like watching the NBA and thinking that Blake Griffin must be the best player because he gets so many pretty dunks. Or that Isiah Rider was one of the very best players because he scored so much. I'm not saying they aren't among the greatest players. But the results don't lie: They weren't as instrumental to their team's success last season as Ribery was. P.S.: What is this nonsense about Suarez about? Did he win anything last season? Anything at all? I guarantee you 100 % that he will not be in the top 5 or top 3.
I value technical ability, vision, finishing, ruthlessness. Lol, you are reaching at petty issues of before/after season to give your irrational logic some kind of structure. The fundamentals of team play in all sports are very similar. Bottomline, you're overrating whatever factors suit Bayern and the German motto of working hard + fast work rate. While those are valuable, there are also league-2 teams who have plenty of that. It's the killer instinct that makes certain players so valuable and why strikers go for more money than anyone else. People aren't getting excited for Zlatan based on the number of goals he's scored - but his ability to single handedly change games given very little. Bale and Ronaldo have explosive speed and accuracy when finishing -factors more important and less imitable than goals scored. Guys like Benzema fit the criteria of what you're against - not Ronaldo. With Suarez, you have someone with explosiveness, speed and technical ability who keeps finding ways to change games. Lewandowski is a good finisher, not the type who consistently creates chances for himself or others out of nothing. Everyone is tired of Messi winning at this point - considering Barca didn't win the champions league, he won't win again. Ribery is the frontrunner atm based on Bayern's success, but Ronaldo could win based on a sympathy vote. But I'm sure if you go to the Dortmund clubhouse, you will find a player, maybe famous or maybe not, who will tell you he thinks Lewandowski is more valuable to his team than Messi or Zlatan.
I grew up watching and playing soccer (Born in South Korea). The best players in the world will always be goal scorers or at least offensive players who set up goal scoring opportunities because goals are so overwhelmingly important in soccer. Basketball and soccer are not an apple to apple comparison because individual defense in soccer, for the most part, are a very small part of the overall defense. The best defenses will always be the with the most organized, in sync teams. Look at it this way. Let's say there is a 25 point shot in basketball (my very conservative estimation of how much a goal is worth in soccer vs a point in basketball). The best basketball players are going to be whoever is best at that 25 point shot because of how much it means to the overall result. That's how soccer is.
Well, this is just a clueless argument. You've embarrassed Korea with this post. When you went further and started talking about 25 point shots, you embarrassed the North as well. FYI, individual defense has a lot to do with how you organize those around you. Not just winning headers. +, Midfielders win the award the majority of the time.
Typical Ronny post. No actual analysis or counter point, just a half-hearted insult at an ethnicity that has nothing to do with my argument. Where in my post did I say midfielders don't win?
Alaba, Götze, Reus could also have deserved to make the list. Alaba is the best left wing defender in the world. Götze will be the best player in the world sooner or later. Reus is better than Hazard and Neymar.
ATW, I'm really lmao. Top 23 should all be from Bayern according to you, heck, let's include the ball boys, janitors, stewards, etc. Top 3 will be, in this order. Ribery Messi CR7 As Barca fan, I hope Leo wins it but I think is now or never for Ribery. Coach of the year is obvious who will win.
Ribery should and most probably will win it. Why is Suarez on this list (as a top 5)??? This isnt the Mike Tyson award.
If anything, I highlighted the relative intelligence of Koreans and the shame you brought to them with that post. I could have laughed at you playing in an ESL league and the predictable over sensitivity of your response, but I took the higher road and chose not to. Don't let me catch you doing it again.
The Luis Suarez's and MJ's and Tyson's of the world do what it takes. I don't dock him for behavioral issues or being on a terrible team when he's such a ridiculous individual talent. Ball control is on par with Xavi and Iniesta, can accelerate like Ronaldo, shoots fast and deceptively, great for set up play. You sound like the kind of brat who would accuse Kobe of rape when we all know how white girls act around us large, darker skinned men. Placing him in the top 5, not that it exists, broadens the scope for discussion. And when it comes down to it, he deserves that fifth spot. For all you kids stuck watching MLS and hating soccer, I suggest getting some rugby feeds and watching the rugby league world cup. Now there's a man's game.
