Thursday, January 13, 2011

My vote in FIFA Ballon d'Or


There were only three Malaysians involved in the FIFA Ballon d'Or voting process. K. Rajagobal as the national coach, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah as the national skipper and yours truly. Read  the votes details

In picking the top three, these were my comments to France Football's redaction director, Denis Chaumier,

My vote goes to Dutch maestro, Wesley Sneijder. Over the course of the 2009/2010 season, the script centred on Internazionale Milan’s march to the treble of UEFA Champions’ League, the Scudetto and Coppa Italia, an unprecedented feat in Italian football. And helping Inter re-write history was Sneijder.


Sneijder’s fine passing range, mastery in set-piece situations and nose for goals became the core element behind Inter’s successful season.


The icing on the cake was Sneijder’s role in the Dutch team that came agonisingly close to lifting the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Sneijder’s five goals were testimony to the impact he had on the team.


In the final analysis, Sneijder demonstrated David Villa’s marksmanship, Xavi’s composure and passing range while providing the Dutch a talismanic influence similar to the impact Diego Forlan had on Uruguay in the World Cup. That is why Sneijder is my pick as the inaugural winner of FIFA Ballon d’Or.

Leo Messi, the eventual winner, was not in my top three because he did not deliver in the tournaments that mattered most. Neither was Andres Iniesta in my shortlist simply because he was injured for the early part of the season. Xavi was my No 2, followed by Diego Forlan. Unlike Messi, Forlan plays for a less heralded team, both at club and country levels.

To me, the Ballon d'Or is a reward for the greatest achiever of the year. On media votes alone, Sneijder would have walked away with the golden ball.

19 comments:

amir husaini said...

sokong...sneider mmg layak untuk menang dengan pencapaian musim lepas...terkejut bila nama messi dapat top 3...

Unknown said...

Kita bercakap mengenai Ballon d'or 2010. Jadi penganugerahan Messi boleh di pertikaikan walaupun Messi merupakan pemain yang hebat. Sangat hebat. Sebagai pemenang Piala Juara-Juara Eropah dan pemain tengah yang menjaringkan 5 gol semasa Piala Dunia 2010, Wesley Sneijder lebih layak menang. sementara Xavi dan Diego Forlan mengekori rapat di tempat kedua dan ketiga. Walau apapun, taniah buat Lionel Messi.

Siva said...

Bro, I think Forlan's contribution to Uruguay in South Africa really stood out. It was close to a one man show,clinching fourth place.He was tireless, a joy to watch.
BTW,bila mau kena nasi kandar?

Anonymous said...

what crap. Sneijder played to the script. Mourinho's Script. The Dutch World Cup team used the same script an so they did well until they met their match.

Sneijder in my opinion cant be mentioned in the same line as Zizou, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Messi and the rest. They are a class above.

razorsharp

Anonymous said...

maaf saudara rizal... bagi saya sneider pun x brape layak..dia hanya hebat di inter.. d holland? x cukup... bagi saya xavi the best.. tp MESSI mmg terbaik...

Zid said...

My vote goes to Xavi. Low profile playmaker tapi sangat berpengaruh dan memberikan impak yang besar kepada Barcelona & Spain.

Berto said...

sebagai penyokong Belanda, saya juga rasa Sneijder berhak menang atas sumbangan beliau.

Messi? Ok, mmg beliau skillful, tp bolasepak permainan berpasukan bukan??

Supposedly Xavi yg menang saya rasa

Tengku Firmino said...

agreed with your comment on Iniesta..main half season dgn barca even got a winner for the final, but for me that not good enough for final 3,Xavi? team player who cant win the game with his own hand but have high awareness and range of passing..messi?wonderful player but failed on international stage with argentina..its should be either sneider or forlan..what a shame..popularity and one man show grab the vote!

Anonymous said...

sokong.....sepatutnya sneijder layak untuk memenangi anugerah ini berdasarkan pencapaiannya membantu pasukan yang diwakilinya..Lihatlah kepada impak terhadap pasukan....berbanding dengan Messi,dilihat gagal memberikan impak terbaik khususnya pada pasukan Argentina..dia dilihat hanya hebat di Barca tetapi gagal untuk pasukan kebangsaan...

Anonymous said...

sokong.....sepatutnya sneijder layak untuk memenangi anugerah ini berdasarkan pencapaiannya membantu pasukan yang diwakilinya..Lihatlah kepada impak terhadap pasukan....berbanding dengan Messi,dilihat gagal memberikan impak terbaik khususnya pada pasukan Argentina..dia dilihat hanya hebat di Barca tetapi gagal untuk pasukan kebangsaan...

ilma said...

saya suka your idea brother. cuma messi dari planet lain kata mourinho. dan itulah kriteria wajib pemenang ballon d'or pada saya.

sneijder mungkin antara yang terbaik di dunia tetapi mungkin untuk memenangi ballon d'or belum lagi rasanya.


sneijder di ajax dan madrid, tak sama sewaktu sneijder bermain untuk inter (2010). 1 season yang luar biasa pada saya belum boleh diangkat untuk memenangi ballon d'or, walaupun itu award tahunan.

Anonymous said...

dpt lihat kehebatan messi selepas memenangi ballon d'or messi melakukan hantrik dgn mudah.. itulh kehebatan messi ok.. (bila agaknya player malaysia nk menang)heheheh

Vijhay Vick said...

Not surprised by the media vote... We all know that there few others more deserving than Messi.

nstman said...

I am in total agreement with the lost canon. I was shocked when Messi even had the cheek to smile when he was given the trophy. The idiots, and of course there were many, who voted for him must be from the School for Blind Swordsmen. These mutts actually voted for a guy (whatever has been said about him, make no mistake Messi is a superb player, albeit not in the class of Maradona or Pele) who was outstanding against cab drivers in the Spanish League. Everyone knows Messi was a total failure in the World Cup. Even Iniesta or Fernandez should be ranked above him. This is a sad indictment of the cronyism and corruption of Blatter and Co. What a shame. Voting a player who only showed glimpses of his true potential against taxi drivers and out=of=shape journeyman is beyond comprehension. In his heart, Messi must have thought Fifa voters were out of their minds. And we only thought the FA of Malaysia was mad.

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Unknown said...

Norhafiz? Shouldn't it be Safiq Rahim?

Firdaus Kasim said...

pemain dan jurulatih terbaik dunia tidak semestinya dipilih berdasarkan pencapaian hebat mereka ketika Piala Dunia berlangsung, tetapi lebih dilihat kepada konsistansi mereka pada tahun 2010 sepamjang bermain di kelab. Ternyata Messi dan Mourinho telah membawa impak yang sgt besar dalam mengemudi kelab kepada kejayaan yang sgt mengagumkan.

Anonymous said...

saya iju..hai

Anonymous said...

Sokong Amir Husaini..Sneidjer memang layak menang..Tapi saya ppun terkejut bila Messi yang menang..Tahniah kepada Lionel Messi..