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Why Lionel Messi’s 2021 Ballon d’Or win is a snub for Robert Lewandowski



The calendar year 2021 doesn’t introduce voters for the Men’s Ballon d’Or with many can’t-miss candidates, but one is staring at them.

And that’s not Lionel Messi.

No one can argue that Messi is still one of the best players in the world and one of the all-time greats, but his seventh Ballon d’Or feels like a no-brainer. with what Robert Lewandowski has achieved for Bayern Munich and Poland in 2021.

Lewandowski won more trophies and scored 23 more goals for club and country. Quite simply, have been searching for the back of the net since the beginning of the year, continuing the years of non-stop scoring days.

FINAL RESULT: How the Ballon d’Or votes fell

Lewandowski’s case was so powerful – and the final vote total was a tight 613-580, with only 33 votes separating the two – even Messi omitted in his acceptance speech in recognition. Lewandowski.

“I think you deserve the Ballon d’Or,” Messi said. “Last year everyone agreed that you were the winner and I think France Football should give you the Ballon d’Or you deserve, and have it since you won it and you won it. last year hopefully France Football can deliver it to you and you can have it in your home you are a well deserved winner [last year]. It can’t happen because of the pandemic, but I think you should have it in your house too. “

That is the sentiment that many people also voiced after Messi’s latest achievement:

Top striker, but second best player?

It is a curious coincidence that France Football, the publication that has awarded the Ballon d’Or since 1956, has launched a new award in 2021 to honor the best striker in the world. Lewandowski won it, and it felt like an early consolation prize just a short time before Messi was announced as the winner of the Ballon d’Or.

So Lewandowski is the best striker for club and country and he came in second for the Ballon d’Or? When we look back at the 2021 Ballon d’Or, it’s hard to explain that contradiction.

More than 170 members of the media around the world submitted a top 5 vote for the Ballon d’Or by the October 24 deadline. Each player received points for the position received on each ballot. – First place: six points; 2nd place: four points; 3rd place: three points; 4th place two points; 5th place: one point – and we’ll soon find out which player the media voted for. The vote will be published in the December 4 issue of France Football magazine.

THAN: Ronaldo hits back at France Football editor’s comment

Media members were asked to vote on (1) individual and team performance in 2021, (2) player talent and sportsmanship, and (3) player’s overall career play. It is difficult to grasp the third item as the relevant criterion but what is clear is that there is a strong argument that Lewandowski is behind Messi in the first two categories.

Messi’s numbers may look better on paper (the stats below count as of the October 24 polling deadline), but the two also play very different games. Lewandowski is a pure and complete striker; Messi is a magical dribbler and creative force who sees the ball more. Statistics only tell part of the story in side-by-side comparisons.

So what could make the media sway in Messi’s direction? Is it individual stats without context? Is that their style of play? Is that the legend of Messi built over a decade? Or is it Argentina’s Copa America championship?

Copa America can’t be a golden ball breaker

Messi certainly believes that the 2021 Copa America, his first major title with Argentina, was a key factor in helping him win the Ballon d’Or:

“This award is for what we did at the Copa America,” Messi said in his acceptance speech. “I want to share that with my national team-mates and thank them. This is a part of them too.”

But Messi wasn’t even the most important player on his team at the Copa America. The Copa America saga ended his title drought with Albiceleste, but he is Argentina’s third most influential player behind midfielder Rodrigo De Paul and goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez.

So if Argentina failed to make it past the penalty shootout in the semi-final against Colombia, Messi might have missed the Ballon d’Or? A prize like the Ballon d’Or needs to be based on more than just the final outcome of a penalty shootout or even a final match in your favor. It should be about a job, not a tense story about the heart. Lewandowski’s year showcased both consistency and results.

Ballon d’Or: Player of the Season or Player of the Year?

The recent history of the Ballon d’Or awards seems to indicate that there is no distinction as to what voters actually reward: It’s a player’s performance over the course of a season and the result. Individuals and teams are rewarded.

Is Robert Lewandowski the best player in the world? Sure is not. Objective observers would most likely place Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema and perhaps even Erling Haaland ahead of the Polish striker. But who had the best 2021? That’s where Lewandowski stands out.

“[Lewandowski] had a great year, and from year to year he goes above and beyond himself and shows the class of strikers and the basis for him to score,” Messi said of Lewandowski in a press conference after the incident. to sue.” This year he was named Top Scorer and I think he can compete for the award next year. Every year he gets ahead of himself and he’s at a great club [Bayern Munich]. “

THAN: World Cup Qualifier Draw and How They Work

This is what the Ballon d’Or is definitely not: a popularity contest. We’ll soon find out if Lewandowski is a total mercenary for some of those who voted, and if any of the media hasn’t even included him in their top three.

Lewandowski turns 34 next year, but 2022 is also the year of the World Cup. It is unclear whether the timing of the Ballon d’Or vote will change to account for a first Winter World Cup (ending December 18, 2022), but Lewandowski and Poland likely won’t. Qatar’s attendance is based on recent tournament history, and that’s if they go that far.

With younger players like Mbappe, Haaland and even Vinicius Jr just entering their prime, Messi may be right: Lewandowski may very well have to get ahead of himself once again. And as 2021 has demonstrated, even that may not be enough.





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