FIFA Ballon d'Or 2013

[zudomiriku]

What a petty charade! As Ronaldo pips bitter rival Messi to top prize, football's annual beauty contest is exposed

* Ronaldo and Messi appeared to ignore each other at the Ballon d'Or
* Even their girlfriends were pictured with their backs to one another
* Messi only voted for Barcelona players while Ronaldo didn't choose him
* One theory is they need a hint of animosity to keep them motivated


Exactly where the mutual animosity comes from is a mystery but the friction between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi was clear for all to see at the Ballon d’Or awards for the best footballer in the world.

The body language of both players and their partners as they sat waiting for the result spoke volumes. Scratch a little deeper and it’s clear from both players’ vote in the competition that they could not bring themselves to recognise the other’s remarkable talents.

For the record, Ronaldo, who tearfully accepted the top award, voted for Gareth Bale, Mesut Ozil and Radamel Falcao. Messi plumped for Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Neymar. Friendship, Spanish football politics and sheer childishness came before a genuine appraisal of genius.


Frosty: Cristiano Ronaldo and girlfriend Irina Shayk (left) ignoring Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo


Emotional: A tearful Ronaldo collects the Ballon d'Or trophy from Pele with his son Cristiano

And the world’s two finest players were not alone. One only had to look at FIFA’s website to appreciate the degree of tactical voting that goes on in football’s answer to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Ronaldo even brought a bit of Eurovision to his acceptance speech, shedding Dana International-style tears.

Yes, we ended up with the right result, but closer analysis of how the votes were cast made the whole thing a bit of a farce and something of an embarrassment to FIFA.

The Ballon d’Or is supposed to be a night when rivalries are put to one side to celebrate football at its finest. In concept it is similar to Eurovision, which was designed to help heal the scars of war-torn Fifties Europe in an attempt to celebrate a multi-cultural continent.

In Zurich on Monday night, Ronaldo and Messi did at least say the right things. Ronaldo was deserving of his award, remarked Messi, and from the Real Madrid superstar came similar words of respect. But the body language was dreadful, with Ronaldo’s girlfriend Irina turning her back on Messi’s partner Antonella as the couples sat side by side. It was plain rude.

The two men really should get on better, given how much they have in common. Both are from impoverished backgrounds — Messi’s father was a steel worker in Argentina, Ronaldo’s a gardener in Madeira — and they have risen to the top not only because of their tremendous talent but because of an incredible work ethic.

But they have embraced their success in a different manner. Messi seems more down to earth, often arriving at training in a tracksuit, while Ronaldo often looks as though he has just walked off a Milan catwalk. That said, Messi seemed to be over-compensating at the Ballon d’Or when he opted for a daring, deep red dinner suit in contrast to Ronaldo’s more traditional black tuxedo.



That difference in style fuelled the footballing equivalent of a diplomatic incident last October, when Sepp Blatter told an Oxford University audience that he preferred Messi, praising his modesty. Blatter went on to imply that Ronaldo was far too interested in hair products.

The rift between Ronaldo and Messi certainly goes beyond their respective roles as ambassadors for adidas and Nike. When major commercial opportunities have been presented to the two of them, one has been known to reject such offers upon discovering that the other is involved.

Perhaps the issue stems from an exchange that allegedly took place at the 2009 ceremony. Messi won the award for the first time and Ronaldo, having emerged triumphant the previous year, whispered to Messi to enjoy his moment because the award would soon be coming back to him.

It must, therefore, have wounded him to see the diminutive Argentine beat him to the prize for the following three years.


Needs fixing: There was Spanish bias in the team of the year with seven players based there


Retrieved: Ronaldo won the award back in 2008 but on the last four occasions he had to watch Messi take it

Some argue that what animosity does exist is generated not by the players but by those around them. In an attempt to establish his client as the undisputed No 1, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes even played a part in creating a rival awards ceremony — the Globe Soccer Awards — in 2010.

But the childish voting by both players is, let’s be honest, the clearest indication that a problem exists between the two.

Ronaldo and Messi were given a vote because they are captains of their national teams — leaders of men and, you would think, above such infantile behaviour.

They were not alone. With a clear Real Madrid bias, Iker Casillas went for Ronaldo but ignored Messi. Germany’s Philipp Lahm went for his Bayern Munich colleague Franck Ribery ahead of both of them. Hugo Lloris also went for Ribery, as a fellow Frenchman, and Robin van Persie chose another Dutchman in Arjen Robben.

Some of the national coaches were no better. Argentina’s man went for Messi, Portugal’s went for Ronaldo and, lo and behold, the France manager went for Ribery.

And how did England’s players score? Well, in the best Eurovision tradition, nul points. On Tuesday, Rio Ferdinand lavished praise on both Ronaldo and Messi.

‘I’m still truly astonished by the drive and determination to stay at the top by not only Ronaldo but Messi too,’ he said. ‘It’s been a joy to witness these two push each other week in, week out.

'The question I ask however is: would they be as relentless in scoring so many goals without each other, breaking every record along the way?’


All smiles: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, winner of the goal of the season, posing alongside model Adriana Lima

Ferdinand may have a point. They need each other and the animosity obviously plays its part in that competitive ‘anything-you-can-do’ tussle between two of the greatest players to have graced a football pitch.

Football may well be the winner. Ronaldo and Messi have both brought joy and excitement to all of us. But it might not be the worst idea for FIFA to change the voting process to avoid further embarrassment.

‘Viva Ronaldo,’ declared Ferdinand. Viva la diva, more like.

CAPTAINS

Lionel Messi, Argentina
1) Andres Iniesta
2) Xavi
3) Neymar

Thiago Silva, Brazil
1) Lionel Messi
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
3) Cristiano Ronaldo

Steven Gerrard, England
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
2) Lionel Messi
3) Luis Suarez

Hugo Lloris, France
1) Franck Ribéry
2) Manuel Neuer
3) Gareth Bale

Philipp Lahm, Germany
1) Franck Ribéry
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
3) Lionel Messi

Gianluigi Buffon, Italy
1) Andrea Pirlo
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
3) Lionel Messi

Robin van Persie, Netherlands
1) Arjen Robben
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
3) Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
1) Radamel Falcao
2) Gareth Bale
3) Mesut Özil

Iker Casillas, Spain
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
2) Franck Ribéry
3) Arjen Robben

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden
1) Franck Ribéry
2) Lionel Messi
3) Cristiano Ronaldo

COACHES

Alejandro Sabella, Argentina
1) Lionel Messi
2) Franck Ribery
3) Cristiano Ronaldo

Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
2) Lionel Messi
3) Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Roy Hodgson, England
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
3) Robin van Persie

Didier Deschamps, France
1) Franck Ribéry
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
3) Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Cesare Prandelli, Italy
1) Andrea Pirlo
2) Philipp Lahm
3) Robert Lewandowski

Louis van Gaal, Netherlands
1) Franck Ribéry
2) Thomas Muller
3) Arjen Robben

Paulo Bento, Portugal
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
2) Radamel Falcao
3) Arjen Robben

Vicente Del Bosque, Spain
1) Xavi
2) Andrés Iniesta
3) Franck Ribéry

Erik Hamre, Sweden
1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
2) Lionel Messi
3) Cristiano Ronaldo

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2539535/Cristiano-Ronaldo-pips-bitter-rival-Lionel-Messi-prize-footballs-annual-beauty-contest-exposed.html

[ecly_watchaa]

Ronaldo talks about his love for Manchester United...

[Redsbusby]

Ramon Calderon yg katanya abis bicara dgn Ronaldo beberapa waktu lalu bilang kalo Ronaldo memang berniat untuk balik lg ke Inggris suatu hari nanti dan ga bakal pensiun di Madrid. We'll see...

[capt_gunts]

Selamat buat Cristiano Ronaldo akhirnya mengungguli Leo Messi n Riberry..

[troy andreas]

Originally Posted by Zee de Wazza

Ronaldo : "First of all I have to say a great thanks to all of my team-mates with the club and the national team. Without all of their efforts this would not have been possible. I am very happy, it is very difficult to win this award. Everybody that has been involved with me on a personal level I have to thank. My wife, my friends, my son. It is a tremendously emotional moment. All I can say is thank you to everybody that has been involved."

Merinding banget nontonnya. Momen saat doi mulai nangis haru. Irina dan anaknya juga ikutan nangis bahagia n bangga gitu. Kemudian penonton juga ikutan banjir air mata ckckckck. I'm proud of you Cristiano.

Viva Ronaldo, Viva Ronaldo, Running down the wing, Hear United sing, Viva Ronaldo. @Cristiano #Chanting #BallondOr2013

My wife? hehehe, perasaan CR7 belum nikah nih sama Irina, lupa kali yakk CR7.

[Zee de Wazza]

Originally Posted by troy andreas

My wife? hehehe, perasaan CR7 belum nikah nih sama Irina, lupa kali yakk CR7.

hahahaha nah itu dia om...tapi kawinnya udah dong wakakaka

[troy andreas]

[zudomiriku]

Ribery slams Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or award and blasts FIFA for having so few Bundesliga stars in team of year

* Franck Ribery won five trophies with Bayern Munich in 2013
* France star says he 'deserved' to win Ballon d'Or but was overlooked
* Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned world player of the year
* Ribery says voting deadlines were changed to 'help Ronaldo'
* More Bundesliga players should have been in FIFPro team of the year
* Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger should have been included

Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery has blasted the voting system for the FIFA Ballon d'Or and claimed that he was more deserving of the award than winner Cristiano Ronaldo because he won five trophies in 2013, while the Real Madrid star did not win any.

The Frenchman appeared to accept coming third behind winner Ronaldo and second-placed Lionel Messi at the award ceremony in Zurich last Monday, even claiming that individual awards were not important to him.

But his frustration appears to have got the better of him since then and he has come out all guns blazing in a powerful interview with AZ.


Not happy: Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery has slammed Cristiano Ronaldo's 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or award

'I won everything I could win with Bayern and individually. Ronaldo, on the other hand, did not win anything. I am not sad that I missed out, but it does hurt a bit. I deserved to win the Ballon d'Or'

Ribery claimed the Bundesliga title, the German cup, the Champions League, the European Super Cup and Club World Cup with Bayern during 2013.

The France star even appeared to suggest changes were made in this year's voting system to help Ronaldo's cause, by extending the deadline at the same time the Portugal star had almost single-handedly seen off Sweden in a World Cup play-off.


Champion: Ribery believes his medal haul of five trophies in 2013 should have seen him win the Ballon d'Or


All smiles: Ribery celebrates winning the FIFA Club World Cup after Bayern Munich beat Raja Casablanca


Floating: Ronaldo works on his skills in training for Real Madrid after bagging the Ballon d'Or

'It was clear that Ronaldo would win it. The voting deadline was extended by two weeks. This had never happened before. It wasn't about football. It was a political decision.'

His frustrations didn't end there as he also criticised the FIFPro World XI - FIFA's team of the year - for only having three Bundesliga stars in it, despite the 2013 Champions League final being contested by Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.


Glaring omissions: Ribery believes his Bayern team-mates Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger should have made the 2013 FIFPro World XI

'There are only three Bayern players in there. That's madness. [Thomas] Muller deserves to be there, and so do [David] Alaba, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger and [Arjen] Robben.

'We won five titles and made history. And then there's the absence of Borussia Dortmund players. Where are [Mario] Gotze and [Robert] Lewandowski? This is impossible.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2542613/Mon-dieu-Ribery-slams-Ronaldos-Ballon-dOr-award-criticises-FIFA-having-Bundesliga-stars-team-year.html

[zudomiriku]

The FIFA Ballon d’Or explained



Awarded to the best player in the world each year, the FIFA Ballon d’Or throws up its fair share of questions, such as who gets to vote and who draws up the shortlists? Ahead of next Monday’s glittering Gala in Zurich, FIFA.com addresses those questions and explains how the evening’s other awards are decided on.

Who draws up the final 23-player shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or and the shortlists for the other World Player/Coach of the Year awards?
The shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which is usually announced in October, is drawn up by the members of FIFA’s Football Committee and a panel of experts from France Football. The shortlist of ten candidates for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year is compiled by FIFA's Committee for Women's Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup and a group of experts from France Football. The same people also draw up the two shortlists of ten contenders each for the FIFA men’s and women’s football coaches of the year awards. Additionally, the ten goals shortlisted for the FIFA Puskás Award are selected by a panel of experts from the Football Committee.

So who gets to vote for these awards?
Voting for the four players and coaches awards is open to national team coaches, national team captains and journalists around the world, who are named on a list compiled by France Football and FIFA. The votes, which all count equally towards the final result in each category, are totted up by an electronic system monitored by a notary public.

What is the deadline for voting?
Coaches, captains and specialist journalists are informed of the deadline when they are invited to vote. The original deadline for the 2013 vote was 15 November, which FIFA and France Football decided to extend by two weeks to 29 November on account of an insufficient number of votes having been received.

What steps are taken to protect the integrity of the voting results and compliance with the rules of allocation?
FIFA and France Football have appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as independent observers to supervise and monitor the award procedures. PwC records the results and keeps them under lock and key until the evening of the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala.

How does voting for the FIFA Puskás Award work?
The winner of the FIFA Puskás Award is selected by the users of FIFA.com and Francefootball.fr, who choose their favourite goal from an initial shortlist of ten contenders before the first deadline (on this occasion 9 December 2013). The three goals receiving the most votes then go forward to the final round, when the votes cast by the users of both sites are added to those obtained by each goal in the first round to decide the overall winner.

And how is the FIFA FIFpro World XI selected?
Every FIFPro-affiliated player, the numbers of which are approximately 52,000, is free to vote for any active professional player in the world to make up their ideal XI in a 4-3-3 formation. FIFpro then counts the votes, with the FIFA FIFpro World XI finally being revealed on the day of the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala.

How are the FIFA Presidential and Fair Play awards chosen?
The winner of the FIFA Presidential Award is decided on by the President of world football’s governing body himself, while the recipient of the FIFA Fair Play award is selected from a list of candidates from the various confederations and proposed by the Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility.

http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/news/newsid=2258186/index.html?cid=newsletter_en_20140116_newsid