Ballon d’Or voting a bloated farce

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2014 (3966 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the few things FIFA fully discloses is the voting breakdown for the Ballon d’Or. It makes for interesting, if not frustrating, reading.

The highest honour available to male footballers, the trophy has been lifted by the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Zinedine Zidane and, more recently, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Not surprisingly, its presentation is typically preceded by partisan campaigning and politicking, and some of the sport’s biggest personalities are quick to weigh in on the ballot.

If someone is in any way involved in football, and has a mouth, he inevitably broadcasts his preference for the prize.

The result is an aggravating build-up to the January gala in Zurich, and like any popularity contest, the process can get downright nasty.

On Friday, Real Madrid took the unusual step of releasing a statement that chided UEFA president Michel Platini for endorsing a German winner, presumably Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Earlier in the week Platini, himself a three-time recipient of the award, remarked that “in a World Cup year the Ballon d’Or should go to one of the world champions.”

As an assertion it was both nonsensical and unwarranted, assuming, of course, the view of the UEFA chief is heavy enough to sway opinion.

Incidentally, it was losing finalist Messi who won the Golden Ball at the 2014 World Cup, and not a Germany player, although in late October FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter revealed he felt Neuer “would have been a more deserving recipient.”

Whether or not he was right is beside the point. As is Platini’s declaration. Neither participates in the voting, and as heads of world football’s two most powerful bodies their neutrality should be expected.

That they have opted to muddy an already polluted procedure only reinforces the notion they, the offices they hold and the organizations they govern are altogether reckless and dysfunctional and should not be taken seriously.

And, by extension, neither should the Ballon d’Or.

For 2014 the ballots will once again be cast by three individuals from each FIFA constituency: the national team manager, his captain and a member of the media. A perusal of last year’s results is at once comical and disheartening.

Slovakia skipper Martin Skrtel, for example, voted for then-Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez. Poland boss Adam Nawalka gave his star striker, Robert Lewandowski, his first-place vote. And Wales, shamefully, delivered a pair of ballots in favour of Gareth Bale.

Several media forms, including those of Cambodia, Guatemala and Burkina Faso, inexplicably omitted both Ronaldo and Messi.

Reputed outlet France Football, which founded the Ballon d’Or in 1956, is tasked with drawing up the annual shortlist, and it goes without saying the current register of 23 players is bloated, unnecessary and inviting of nonsense.

Shortening it would be a useful first step in legitimizing the process, after which a discussion could begin as to how the voting might be reformed.

For now, however, football’s most prestigious gong is little more than the irritating child of favouritism and prejudice. That doesn’t mean its winner won’t be deserving, but it leaves the door open to a result as embarrassing as the leadup to it.

Spot-kicks

With a win today against Malaga, Carlo Ancelotti can become the first Real Madrid manager to string together 16 successive triumphs. The Italian has introduced an element of diplomacy at the Bernabeu since replacing the confrontational Jose Mourinho, and his approach has been central to the club’s ongoing run of success. Predictably, he and Los Blancos have begun negotiating an extension to his contract.

On Friday, just a day after conducting an Aston Villa training session, Roy Keane stepped down as the Premier League club’s assistant manager. The combustible 43-year-old rarely leaves a job on good terms, and no doubt we’ll all learn about exactly what transpired when his next, angry autobiography is released.

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