Three Goal writers argue the case for each of the candidates ahead of the prestigious ceremony in Zurich next Monday
By Fernando Duclos, Christoph Kockeis & Ben Hayward
The stage is set. The world's three finest footballers in 2014 stand together in Zurich on Monday as the Fifa Ballon d'Or awaits for either Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Manuel Neuer.
Ronaldo is looking to claim the prestigious prize for a third time and repeat the triumph of 2013, while Messi is in the running for a fifth trophy after winning four in consecutive years between 2008 and 2012. And Neuer, never nominated for the final three before, looks to break the duopoly dominating football's foremost individual prize for the last six editions.
In terms of silverware, Neuer won the World Cup with Germany and claimed the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal titles for Bayern, while Ronaldo left Brazil 2014 early but helped Real Madrid to the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, the Uefa Super Cup and the Club World Cup last year. Messi missed out for once, ending a calendar year trophyless with Barca for the first time since 2008 and losing out agonisingly on the game's greatest prize as he led Argentina to the World Cup final back in July.
Arguments can be made for all three players, but only one will win it. So who will it be? Here, Goal journalists Fernando Duclos, Christoph Kockeis and Ben Hayward take up the debate ...
| "MESSI WAS THE MOST CONSISTENT FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY" |
By Fernando Duclos
Lionel Messi deserves to win the Ballon d'Or this time. Why? Because 2014, a special year for football, can be divided into two parts: everything that happened in the World Cup and everything that took place outside of it at club level. And even though Manuel Neuer lifted the famous trophy and Cristiano Ronaldo won many major prizes with Real Madrid in the regular season, Messi was, from January to December, the most consistent performer of them all.
That is not to detract from his competitors. Not at all. Many claim that Neuer revolutionised his position with his forays outside the area in the World Cup particularly, while Ronaldo was immense for Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti. But the Portuguese was "absent" in Brazil and the goalkeeper shone less brightly at club level, letting in five goals against Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Messi, meanwhile, was chosen - albeit with some controversy - as the World Cup's finest footballer and, with Barcelona, he broke the record for Liga goals that had been held for decades by Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra. All of that at the age of 27 and with five or six seasons still to play at the highest level!
So even though Messi is the only one of the three nominees who failed to win any trophies in 2014, he was the most consistent of the trio over the course of 2014 and the Ballon d'Or is awarded for precisely that: the best player for the entire year, not the standout star over a few weeks or months. And on the pitch, at individual level, Lionel Messi is still the best there is.
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| "NEUER REVOLUTIONISED GOALKEEPING IN 2014" |
By Christoph Kockeis
It was a memorable game - and not just for Algerian fans. It was memorable for the history of football because Manuel Neuer was playing as a defender. Running like a sprinter and saving his team with a few crucial interventions you would expect from the best goalkeeper around at the moment, Neuer was everywhere. Thanks in large part to how he revolutionised his position, Germany went on to become world champions. But after the hard-earned win in the last 16 over Algeria in Brazil, nobody was talking about the Ballon d'Or.
"I didn't change my style of play, but this time the whole planet was looking at me", Neuer told Goal a few months later. Indeed, he was surprised at the eulogies he now receives, having interpreted his role in the same manner for many a year, like a very risky 'sweeper keeper'. But in Brazil, on the world's greatest football stage, he engaged everyone. Usually goalkeepers don't stand in the spotlight, a place more seldom reserved for strikers and playmakers, for Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, for global brands. Neuer is no global brand. He is a normal guy, down-to-earth, with no airs and graces.
That may make him less interesting for commercial partners, but he remains fascinating for fans. At the age of 28, some pundits believe he can go on to become the greatest goalkeeper in history. Others think he is there already. And while that is difficult to judge, he is probably the most complete. With his technique, anticipation and fantastic reflexes, he guided Bayern to the Bundesliga title and the Champions League semi-finals, while also leading Germany to the World Cup in 2014. It was his year - a Ballon d'Or year. Nobody else revolutionised their position in 2014 quite like Neuer did - and that's why he deserves to take home the prestigious prize next Monday.
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| "RONALDO WAS THE BEST PLAYER IN 2014" |
By Ben Hayward
At this time every year there is a debate over the criteria for the Ballon d'Or. Fifa have yet to explain exactly what should be taken into consideration as national coaches, captains and journalists vote for the player they think has performed the best over the course of the previous 12 months. And the debate rumbles on.
Is it the World Cup that matters most this time? What about trophies? Lionel Messi led Argentina to the final in July but failed to win any silverware at all in 2014. Cristiano Ronaldo disappointed on the game's greatest stage as Portugal were knocked out in the first round in Brazil. Manuel Neuer claimed the trophy with Germany and more with Bayern Munich but was not necessarily the standout performer for either of those teams.
Messi remains the greatest player of his generation and his performances at the World Cup gave Argentina a shot at lifting the trophy, but it was not a vintage year for the Barca forward overall. Neuer, meanwhile, was wonderful for Germany at times but that team owed more to the collective than any one player. Joachim Low's side, much like Pep Guardiola's Bayern, rely more on teamwork than individual brilliance.
Taking all of that into account, Ronaldo remains the best individual in 2014. His 17 goals in the Champions League set a new competition record and allowed Madrid to claim La Decima, a 10th European Cup crown. Far from full fitness and playing for a poor team in Brazil, Cristiano failed to shine at the World Cup but did enough to be considered the best player across 2014. And that, surely, is the only criteria that really matters.
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