ballon d'or

[Porthos]

so theu gave it to ronaldo
it seems like the most logical thing with today's rules

ronaldo jumping and benzema looking:

[video=youtube_share;6JZoRUzB2Bw]http://youtu.be/6JZoRUzB2Bw[/video]

ronaldo the most athletic player

Absolutely the right choice, let me agree for once with the media "pundits". The guy is a debatable person, but he's definitely the best football player of our times. In my opinion far superior to Lionel Messi. Ronaldo does not need the whole team to play for him, he is a rare combination of athleticism and technical/tactical skill - a player that stands on his own.

 

[frederic38]

the finalists for the 2014 player of the year award:

http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/player-of-the-year/index.html

 

[Matra2]

I want Manuel Neuer to win but Ronaldo will likely get it:

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/ed...-contender-neuer-is-the-best-goalkeeper-since

I don't like some of what I'm seeing from Ronaldo lately. He seems more interested in personal glory, especially in relation to Messi. Some really blatant diving from him too.

 

[Porthos]

I want Manuel Neuer to win but Ronaldo will likely get it:

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/ed...-contender-neuer-is-the-best-goalkeeper-since

I don't like some of what I'm seeing from Ronaldo lately. He seems more interested in personal glory, especially in relation to Messi. Some really blatant diving from him too.

Well, Neuer seems to have done a lot of glory hunting himself lately. How do you explain all these dribblings 40 meters from the goal lately? A goalie feeling a bit too lonely between these bars? Not sure I like this goalkeepeing style.

 

[frederic38]

Well, Neuer seems to have done a lot of glory hunting himself lately. How do you explain all these dribblings 40 meters from the goal lately? A goalie feeling a bit too lonely between these bars? Not sure I like this goalkeepeing style.

exactly what i wanted to say the other day but i didn't post it
i restored auto-saved content so this is what i wanted to post:

something could also be said about neuer and his tendency to get out of his goal a lot, and about the fact that the media seems to talk a lot about that
probably a way to make him stand out and give him more personality

 

[Matra2]

Well, Neuer seems to have done a lot of glory hunting himself lately. How do you explain all these dribblings 40 meters from the goal lately? A goalie feeling a bit too lonely between these bars? Not sure I like this goalkeepeing style.

From what I saw he was fine last season, the Champions League, and in the World Cup. I haven't seen a single Bundesliga match this season and only a couple of Bayern CL matches so I don't know anything about it. Diving is worse. It is not only cheating but unmanly. It's also unnecessary to play someone as valuable as Ronaldo in a meaningless CL match when the team need him healthy for the rest of the season. It's not as if he doesn't get enough action to stay match fit in La Liga.

 

[Porthos]

From what I saw he was fine last season, the Champions League, and in the World Cup. I haven't seen a single Bundesliga match this season and only a couple of Bayern CL matches so I don't know anything about it. Diving is worse. It is not only cheating but unmanly. It's also unnecessary to play someone as valuable as Ronaldo in a meaningless CL match when the team need him healthy for the rest of the season. It's not as if he doesn't get enough action to stay match fit in La Liga.

I agree, but as frederic says, Neuer is doing his bravados obviously for the media. He is looking for more media exposure. Media is typically fixated on goal scorers, with defenders and goalkeepers being in the shadows. With almost all Ballon d'or-s awarded to strikers or number 10s (the only exceptions I remember were Franz Beckenbauer in the 70s, Mathias Summer in the 90s and recently Fabio Cannavaro), and with a goalkeeper ballon d'or being unheard of, he desperately needs publicity if he wants to win. I think he deserves it - first of all because he is a great goalkeeper, second to establish a precedent and give it to a goalie (football is not only scoring goals), and also because he is a World Cup winner. However, when it comes to the this game I am pretty conservative and would like to believe he can win this on his own merits, not by relying on publicity stunts.

Here's a list of the shortlisted players:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...st-nominations-in-pictures.html?frame=2382341

 

[frederic38]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/28/fifa-world-xi-midfield-mesut-ozil-surprise-inclusion

[h=1] Mesut Özil a surprise inclusion on shortlist for Fifa world XI midfield [/h]

With largely indifferent club form, and having missed a large part of the year through injury, Ozil is seen as a surprise nomination for the world XI, but joins other World Cup winners Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger on the list, which also includes four candidates from Spain: Xabi Alonso, Fàbregas, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta.

what a joke

 

[frederic38]

I agree, but as frederic says, Neuer is doing his bravados obviously for the media. He is looking for more media exposure. Media is typically fixated on goal scorers, with defenders and goalkeepers being in the shadows. With almost all Ballon d'or-s awarded to strikers or number 10s (the only exceptions I remember were Franz Beckenbauer in the 70s, Mathias Summer in the 90s and recently Fabio Cannavaro), and with a goalkeeper ballon d'or being unheard of, he desperately needs publicity if he wants to win. I think he deserves it - first of all because he is a great goalkeeper, second to establish a precedent and give it to a goalie (football is not only scoring goals), and also because he is a World Cup winner. However, when it comes to the this game I am pretty conservative and would like to believe he can win this on his own merits, not by relying on publicity stunts.

Here's a list of the shortlisted players:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...st-nominations-in-pictures.html?frame=2382341

look at this for example:

https://twitter.com/FootballVines/status/545245477256830976

a little bit too much lol

 

[Porthos]

look at this for example:

https://twitter.com/FootballVines/status/545245477256830976

a little bit too much lol

...or this:
[video=youtube;-jgqY_ZHUN8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgqY_ZHUN8[/video]

...too cool by half...

 

[frederic38]

...or this:
[video=youtube;-jgqY_ZHUN8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgqY_ZHUN8[/video]

...too cool by half...

it's sad that a great goalkeeper has to do that to get attention

 

[Porthos]

Yes. Under normal circumstances he would have been benched immediately, but since he's a superstar goalkeeper he gets away with it... and of course, we live in a media driven world and you have to grab attention, be on the first page, youtube etc. It's part of the "modern football" thing.
The problem is that it's a double edged sword. That player on the video was centimeters away from stealing the ball... and he will make a mistake sooner or later and than he will look like a fool.

 

[frederic38]