The 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony took place in the early hours of October 18 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where Real Madrid striker Benzema was crowned the Ballon d'Or at the "advanced age" of 34 years old, known as "the most unsuspenseful Ballon d'Or winner". Luo Ming, the only judge of the Golden Globe Awards in China and the editor-in-chief of Sports Weekly, also wrote an article: "Since I participated in the Golden Ball Award voting in 2007, I have met a player who 'gets full marks in all subjects' for the first time! ”
Of course, this year's Ballon d'Or has also caused a lot of controversy, such as Messi did not enter the final 30-man shortlist, Ronaldo only ranked 20th, Manchester City overwhelmed Real Madrid to be elected the "best club". Red Star News reporters interviewed Luo Ming exclusively after the Golden Globe Awards and asked him to comment on the competition for this year's Golden Globes and his views on many controversial issues.
Why wasn't Messi "perfect score" in 2009 and 2011?
There is no suspense for Benzema to win the 2022 Ballon d'Or, and he will make big news if he does not win it.
After the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, Luo Ming, the only judge of the Golden Globe Awards in China and the editor-in-chief of "Sports Weekly", also revealed his Golden Globe votes, in order: Benzema, Kevin De Bruyne, Mane, Courtois, Salah. Luo Ming said that this year's Golden Globe Awards revised the selection criteria, in addition to changing the selection period from annual to season, but also divided the original first "individual performance + collective honor" into two, which may be intended to highlight individual performance, "but Benzema's individual performance and collective honor are full marks for the season." Not only did he help Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League, but he was also the top scorer in the Champions League (15 goals in 12 games) and La Liga (27 goals in 32 games), and finished second in the assist list in La Liga (12 assists). Back-to-back hat-tricks in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea were his highlight of the year. He even gained in the national team, leading France to the UEFA Nations League, scoring in both the semi-finals and the final. For the first time since I voted in 2007, I met a player who 'scored perfect marks in every subject'. ”
Benzema wins the Golden Globe Photo by IC photo
In recent years, Messi, who won the 2009 and 2011 awards, actually has a huge advantage. In 2009, Messi won the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey with Barca, and he contributed 38 goals and 19 assists in 51 games, and in that year's Ballon d'Or voting, Messi scored far ahead of second-placed Ronaldo and Xavi in third. In 2011, Messi led Barca to the Champions League, La Liga, and La Super Cup trebles, contributing 53 goals and 25 assists in 55 games, and also left Ronaldo a lot behind in the Golden Ball vote.
So, what is Messi in 2009 and 2011 from Luo Ming's "full score player in all subjects"? In an interview with Red Star News, Luo Ming said that it was mainly in terms of national team results. Looking at him, last season's UEFA Nations League title against Benzema was just the icing on the cake, but it made him almost perfect in terms of individual performances and collective honours for the club and the national team. Although he was reused by then Argentine coach Maradona in 2009, his performance in the national team that year never met the expectations of the outside world, resulting in Argentina's stumbling road to the World Cup in South Africa. As for 2011, Argentina hosted the Copa America, but the homegrown Argentine team stumbled in the group stage and finished second. In the 1/4 final, Argentina lost to Uruguay on penalties and missed the final four. And Messi himself did not score a goal in the 2011 Copa America, and his style was lost. This local Copa America is also an eternal pain in Messi's heart. Therefore, although Messi achieved great results at the club in 2009 and 2011, the performance of the national team did drag him down, and it is reasonable that he cannot become a "player with perfect points in all subjects".
Why did Manchester City win the "best club"?
There is no suspense in this year's Ballon d'Or, and the Kopa Award, the Muller Award, the Yasin Award, and the Women's Ballon d'Or were also taken away by Garvey (Barca), Lewandowski (Barca), Courtois (Real Madrid), Putras (Barca Women's Football), as predicted by the major media before the award, and Real Madrid and Barca became the biggest winners.
But surprisingly, the "Best Club" of the 2022 Ballon d'Or was not awarded to Champions League champions Real Madrid, but to Manchester City, with Liverpool in second place and Real Madrid in third place. This also caused a huge controversy, Real Madrid midfielder Kroos and famous Casillas both posted articles mocking the award. There are many voices that the organizer of the Golden Ball Award "France Football" is balancing this "chicken rib award" to avoid Real Madrid and Barça being the only one.
Manchester City won the best club award according to Visual China
However, Luo Ming revealed in an interview with Red Star News the real reason why Manchester City won the award, "The best club is not voted for, and the selection rules of France Football in this award are that the club with the largest number of finalists among the Golden Ball nominations wins the award." Manchester City have six candidates, Kevin De Bruyne, Haaland, B, Mahrez, Foden and Joao Cancelo, who have been shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or 30, and a female footballer has been shortlisted for the Women's Ballon d'Or, for which they have been named the best club. "So, according to the rules of France Football, Manchester City has no problem winning the award, although the reasonableness of this rule is debatable.
Why didn't Messi make the 30-man list for the Ballon d'Or?
Messi was not shortlisted for the 30-man list for the Ballon d'Or, and Ronaldo finally ranked only 20th, which also made many fans dissatisfied, and some fans asked: "This means, 30 players have surpassed Messi now?" In this regard, Luo Ming believes that Messi's exclusion from the 30-man shortlist is due to the "deep love and responsibility" of "France Football" for Greater Paris: "After all, "French Football" is a French magazine, and this shortlist largely represents the position of the French, who are very disappointed that Paris was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League last season. So in the end, only Mbappe made it into the top 10 of this year's Ballon d'Or. ”
For Ronaldo only ranked 20th in the Golden Ball Awards, Luo Ming said that the voting for this year's Golden Ball Awards ended in August, when Ronaldo made a lot of negative news, "Continuous transfers, coupled with Manchester United's 1-2 home loss to Brighton in the first round of the Premier League and a 0-4 defeat to Brentford in the second round, these factors may have affected the judges' perception of Ronaldo to a certain extent, resulting in his final ranking is not very ideal." ”
Golden Globe Awards 2022 Awards:
Men's Ballon d'Or: Benzema (Real Madrid)
Women's Ballon d'Or: Putras (Barcelona)
Kopa Award (Best Newcomer): Garvey (Barcelona)
Socrates Prize (for footballers involved in social and charitable projects): Mane (Bayern Munich)
Yassin Award (Best Goalkeeper): Courtois (Real Madrid)
Gerd Müller Award (Best Striker): Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Best Club Award: Manchester City (Premier League)
Red Star News reporter Jiang Shan
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