I hope Manuel Neuer wins the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or.
And I think most neutrals will be rooting for the German to do so because he deserves it. He won the World Cup with Germany, what other reasons do you need? Add that to the double he took home on the domestic front with Bayern Munich. It pales in comparison when you compare that with what his 2 other fellow final nominees achieved in 2014 – the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, World Cup finalist with Argentina for Lionel Messi. If this award is meant to acknowledge a player’s achievements during a specific calendar year, then Neuer should be its obvious recipient for 2014, right?
2006 was when a goalkeeper came closest to scooping this honor most recently. Italy and Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon could not sway the voting trend of team captains and coaches, losing to his national team-mate Fabio Cannavaro. Both had won the World Cup that year. That was back when the award was referred to as the FIFA World Player of the Year. Cannavaro was also the last recipient who wasn’t a midfielder or attacker to lift the trophy.
You’d have to go even further back – 1991 to be exact, for the last German to win this. It was the former national team captain itself Lothar Matthaus, as a result of his victory with Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup that year and perhaps Germany’s success in the 1990 World Cup. And if you’re keen on statistics, a goalkeeper actually won the equivalent of this accolade way back in 1963. Soviet Union’s Lev Yashin is still the only player in his position to have won the European Player of the Year gong.
Neuer played 44 matches overall for his club last season, keeping a clean sheet 44% of the time. To put things into perspective, 2013/14 Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund only kept a clean sheet 28% of the time, while Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno managed a measly 24%. Yes, he plays in a far superior side when you compare individual personnel, like for like. But that’s the competition he has to face on a weekly basis and also in European competitions. So does Roman Weidenfeller and Leno.
At the World Cup in Brazil, the recipient of 2014’s Golden Glove kept the door shut at the back in 4 of the 7 matches he was featured. Only Argentina and the Netherlands kept the same number of clean sheets at the tournament. But they did not walk away with football’s ultimate prize. Neuer also went on to extend his feat with die Nationalmannschaft to 21 clean sheets in 51 appearances, including that 1-nil win in the finale.
It’s evident Messi and Ronaldo’s achievements and records are far more quantifiable than that of the lone man at the back. Messi and Ronaldo are able to flaunt their flair in practically any match they play. They score goals. They provide assists. Fans recall those moments more easily than the time Neuer shut up shop at the back for Bayern and Germany.
Even when a team keeps a clean sheet, usually it’s the strikers who are remembered and regarded, unless the match ended in a goalless stalemate. In that situation, you’ll sometimes get people pointing out a lackluster midfield, poor wingers or blunt shooting by the forwards. Nobody remembers the goalkeeper’s efforts in keeping the goals out. How often is a goalless match regarded as victories for the goalkeepers? It’s as insignificant as the role of a drummer in a band. Unless there’s a lengthy drum solo, only then you’d recognise their presence. But it becomes a merciless position if they make a mistake that costs the game. It’s definitely an unappreciated part.
So, when there is a chance to acknowledge and show recognition to the 11th man, why not?
Looking at the other goalkeepers who won their respective country’s league, Gianluigi Buffon and Thibaut Courtois both ranked at 51% when it comes to clean sheets. But they did not fare as well with their national side at the World Cup, nor in Europe for Juventus and Atletico Madrid respectively. England and Manchester City’s Joe Hart only rates at 36%. Paris Saint-Germain’s Salvatore Sirigu fared a little better than Hart – he won the Ligue 1 title with a clean sheet 47% of the time.
Just because Messi and Ronaldo are in the final 3 shortlist, it should not be considered a foregone conclusion between those 2 for the win. Unfortunately, it might just be that, depending on the timing of when the coaches and captains were expected to submit their votes. It could also be down to the fact that the definition of the winner for this award is pretty vague. Is it for the best performer, the best individual talent or very simply the best player? Are all 3 definitions somewhat intertwined and up to individual interpretation? Why can’t it just define the most successful player of that season for club and country?
January 12, 2015 cannot come any sooner….
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