Ballon d'Or 2011

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You're purposely ignoring what I'm writing. I'm done.

 

[Y&h]

Did I slate Pirlo?...I think he's fantastic but to suggest he should be in any list ahead of the Barcelona midfielders is unfair to them, IMO

And my point about fatigue & matches holds since, again, no players have played more matches over the past 5 season for both club & country than the Barcelona ones...So any argument about fatigue is trumped by that alone

Italian fans should feel proud though because Prandelli has them believing and the Azzurri will have to be taken seriously in Brasil...It surprised me tbh and I predicted they'd topple Germany when many were thinking it was not possible

I Agree since I've been following Barcelona with my father (He's a Barca supporter and you can imagine how the CL Semi final was between us :scream: vs :frustrat: ), and I believe there is a misunderstanding... I didn't mean Xavi & Inbiesta with the exclusion but Alonso.

 

[jmaster]

Moron

It can be seen that Ronaldo hit Pep accidentally, and then apologized.

 

[Fitzy]

Agreed...Moron

Pep is no one's media bitch to pretend like there's respect being conveyed

Ronaldo tries to grab the ball for a quick throw in, Guardiola throws it away from him, and he gives him a little nudge in the process. All this in a high-pressure game... who gives a fuck?

 

[Pajo]

[youtube]qCLPkN7RnjE[/youtube]

Great, great explanation!

 

[Fapuccino]

[youtube]qCLPkN7RnjE[/youtube]

Great, great explanation!

a winger that defends, a winger that runs, a winger that is CF half the team because the main strikers drop to the right, and he goes to the centre. does this guy forget messi drops deep as fuck almost to the halfway line.

Messi broke an all time scoring record IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME! The record was set 40 something years ago. IF he didnt get the record, then Ronaldo wouldve deserved it because Real won la liga. But breaking an all time record in the entire history of the game is surely worthy of a ballon d'or.

as much as I love mou, most of the time hes just a bitter asshole. he insults messi all the time, and messi still voted for him. the guy has no class whatsoever.

 

[Pimpin]

a winger that defends, a winger that runs, a winger that is CF half the team because the main strikers drop to the right, and he goes to the centre. does this guy forget messi drops deep as fuck almost to the halfway line.

wait whattttt

 

[pupivn]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Ronaldo-snubbed-Pep-Guardiola-Ballon-dOr.html

oh dear

 

[Pajo]

Ouch, this shit's getting bigger...

Rosicky: I swear i gave my vote to Ronaldo, but on the official list, FIFA says i gave it to Messi. What?

Thiago Silva: I voted for Ronaldo, but FIFA says i voted for Messi. It's really shameful what's happening.

Buffon: I voted for Ronaldo, but FIFA gave my vote for Pirlo. Pirlo is great and my countryman, but Ronaldo deserved the Ballon d'Or.

Pekerman: I voted for Falcao, normally. But FIFA claims i voted for Messi, which is not right. I don't know what's going on, but i'm certain i didn't vote for Messi.

 

[monster09]

Read that on twitter, but there is no proper source to back it up. At the moment it looks like just twitter talk.

 

[Pajo]

Dunno for the rest, but i read the interview of Rosicky, it was given for al jazeera, so his quote is definitely true.

 

[Fapuccino]

I voted for Stewart Downing, but my vote went to Al Karimi. RIGGED!!! Fifa is corrupt....

 

[monster09]

Dunno for the rest, but i read the interview of Rosicky, it was given for al jazeera, so his quote is definitely true.

FIFA

 

[Fapuccino]

come on. do you guys honestly believe an organization as large as fifa, would stoop so low and risk their own integrity as an organization, to change some people's votes for whats pretty much a glamourized paper trophy...

 

[Bergpavian]

Good article ... from Goal.com?

Where is Pirlo? Barcelona and Real Madrid bias proves that FIFPro World XI has no credibility

How can the Fifa-backed award possibly be taken seriously after the shocking exclusion of the Juventus and Italy star, and the admittance of underachievers such as Dani Alves?

Footballers are often ridiculed for having more money than sense, and it is little wonder when they are responsible for monstrosities like the 2012 FIFPro World XI.

The best team of the last calendar year, as voted for by approximately 45,000 professional footballers around the globe, produced an all-La Liga line-up consisting of just one player – Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao – who is not contracted to either Barcelona or Real Madrid.

If the Fifa Ballon d'Or is traditionally regarded as the most prestigious individual prize in football, then the FIFPro XI considers itself the most distinguished team construct.

However, any credibility that the Fifa-backed award has acquired since its creation in 2005 has now all but disappeared.

The most bizarre inclusion was that of Dani Alves at right-back. At the start of last season, the Brazilian was arguably the best full-back in world football. But 2012 was his worst year since arriving in Spain, as he endured problems with Pep Guardiola and then spent time on the bench under Tito Vilanova.

There were numerous superior right-backs in Europe, including Borussia Dortmund's Lukasz Piszczek, Juventus' Stephan Lichtsteiner and Shakhtar Donetsk's Darijo Srna, to name just a few, all of whom – unlike Dani Alves – won a league title in 2012. The footballers who picked Alves clearly chose him on reputation, and watched little to no German, Italian or Ukrainian football. Most will have barely heard of Piszczek, let alone be capable of spelling his name on a ballot paper.

His Barcelona team-mate Gerard Pique also fell out with Guardiola, but his greatest personal achievements of 2012 came off the pitch with Shakira. He certainly had plenty of time to spend with his beautiful Colombian girlfriend as he missed almost half of the 2011-12 Liga season and struggled for form when his footballing partner Carles Puyol was sidelined with injury.

In Pique's favour is the fact that, in addition to winning Euro 2012, this is possibly the worst era for defenders in almost 50 years. But, the likes of Thiago Silva and Mats Hummels were surely more worthy candidates to be considered alongside Sergio Ramos.

Marcelo's addition at left-back is no disgrace, once again due to the dearth of top quality full-backs in the game, but a player who was twice dropped for crucial Real Madrid clashes at the end of last term (the Liga decider in April at Barcelona, and the Champions League semi-final first-leg versus Bayern Munich) should not be preferred to Ashley Cole, who was heroic throughout Chelsea's road to glory. That the Champions League winners, however fortunate they were to lift the trophy, have no representation in the FIFPro XI is somewhat absurd.

The ultimate insult, though, was the exclusion of Andrea Pirlo. The Italian magician will go down in history as one of the best centre midfielders of all time, and 2012 was his annus mirablis as he led Juventus to Scudetto glory without losing a game, before winning three man-of-the-match awards on his way to taking Italy to Euro 2012 silver. In the current campaign he has been just as dominant.

The fact that 45,000 ballots couldn't tally up enough votes for Pirlo makes you lose faith in democracy, particularly as the former AC Milan star has been hailed in the world media on an almost daily basis since his Euro 2012 quarter-final masterclass against England.

Football today may have become monopolised by a small group of rich, elite clubs, but Barcelona and Real Madrid – neither of whom made the Champions League final in 2012 - are not the only two teams in world football.

Andres Iniesta's insertion in the midfield three is a no-brainer, but the additions of Xavi and Xabi Alonso ahead of Pirlo demonstrates an embarrassing bias towards the Clasico couple.

Even the selection of Atletico Madrid superstar Falcao, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, is debatable given the presence of equally brilliant candidates such as Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it is Pirlo's absence that has rightfully created all the headlines.

The Fifa Ballon d'Or itself has suffered its fair share of criticism in recent times, from the snubbing of Wesley Sneijder in 2010, to the bizarre inclusion this time around of Pep Guardiola in the top three of the coaching category.

But its credibility is still just about intact. This is sadly not the case any longer with the FIFPro XI.

Source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2013/01/08/3656647/where-is-pirlo-barcelona-and-real-madrid-bias-proves-that-fifpro-?ICID=HP_TS_28

 

[dynasty27]

ribery's award probably in danger if france fails to qualify...