The most important football tournament of 2002 was undoubtedly the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and the performance of players in the World Cup determined the Ballon d'Or that year.
First of all, looking at the tenth place Piero that year, the Zebra Prince had good statistics in the 01/02 season, scoring 21 goals and assisting 13 times in 46 games, leading Juve to the Serie A title that year. However, Italy did not perform well in the World Cup that year, and Piero could not even guarantee the main position, although he scored a key goal against Mexico, but it was not enough to make Piero higher in the ranking.
Young fans may have a limited impression of Basturk, who in addition to being the main midfielder of Turkey, the third runner-up of the World Cup that year, was also a member of the Sanya king Bayer Leverkusen that year. His inclusion should be more of a tribute to Turkey's outstanding performance that year, and the symbolic significance is greater than the practical significance.
Rivaldo's ranking and number of votes are somewhat unexpected, and as one of the absolute contributors to Brazil's World Cup victory, the eighth place and 31 votes are a bit incredible. In fact, in the 01/02 season, Vardo's performance was relatively average, injuries and other factors, only played 33 games for Barca, scored 14 goals and assisted 8 times, Barca was also empty in that season. With his outstanding performance in the World Cup, Rivaldo actually has a chance to further improve his ranking. Unfortunately, he did not show outstanding performance after joining AC Milan, which made it difficult for him to get the favor of the judges.
In that year's selection, Raul came seventh. Because it's a World Cup year, Raul's Champions League title is a bit insignificant. Although he handed over 3 goals and 1 assist in the World Cup, he did not achieve anything in the knockout round, especially against South Korea. Coupled with the mediocre performance from the start of the new season to the selection, it was difficult for Raul to get more votes.
If it weren't for the World Cup year, Henry would definitely be a serious contender for the Ballon d'Or, after all, he led Arsenal to the Premier League and FA Cup doubles in the 01/02 season, and he also won the Premier League Golden Boot. But in the most crucial World Cup, Henry handed over a disastrous answer, did not score and assist, and he received a red card in the second round of the group stage against Uruguay, which doomed him to miss this year's Ballon d'Or.
Who was the most frustrated person in 2002, Barak ranked second and no one dared to say first. As a midfielder, the statistics of 23 goals and 13 assists in 50 games can be called explosive, but Bayer Leverkusen tragically won the Sanya king. In the World Cup, Ballack also handed over 3 goals and 4 assists, especially in the knockout round all the way to Germany's promotion, but the semifinals suffered a yellow card and did not qualify for the final, and he could only watch the team lose on the bench and win another runner-up, which should be understandable to everyone.
The kick in the Champions League final in '02 was enough for Zidane to compete for that year's major prizes, provided there was no World Cup. Zidane missed the first two group games of the World Cup due to injuries sustained in a meaningless warm-up match against South Korea. Without Zizu, France will not play football and win a hard time, helpless Zidane had to bring an injury, the result is still unable to recover, France became the worst performance in history defending champions, Zidane also missed this year's individual award.
In the 2002 World Cup Germany can reach the final, in addition to Ballack in the front, Kahn's high reception at the back is also crucial. It is well known that apart from Yassin, no goalkeeper has won the Ballon d'Or, and it is difficult to even finish in the top three. In fact, Kahn's ability to finish in the top three is already the limit, after all, his disadvantages are also obvious, first of all, Bayern's 01/02 season pull-across performance. Bundesliga third place, Champions League quarter-finals, German Cup semi-finals, this kind of achievement is difficult if you want to enter the top ten of the Ballon d'Or, but fortunately this year is the World Cup year.
Fans who watched that year's World Cup must remember Kahn's performance, but unfortunately Germany only finished runner-up, and Kahn made a mistake in the final and lost against Ronaldo. While missing out on the world title, he could only say goodbye to the Ballon d'Or again, but Kahn won the World Cup Ballon d'Or.
In fact, the Ballon d'Or selection not only "discriminates" goalkeepers, but also central midfielders are basically spared. The second place in the 2002 Ballon d'Or was Real Madrid and Brazil's famous left-back Roberto Carlos, who played 52 games in the 01/02 season, scoring 6 goals and assisting 10 times, including two assists in the Champions League final, and was an absolute contributor to Real Madrid's Champions League victory.
Carlos was also a regular for the Samba team in the 2002 World Cup, playing all six games except for Costa Rica in the final round of the group stage, and scoring the fastest free-kick in World Cup history against the national team. It stands to reason that with both the World Cup and the Champions League, Carlos should be the favorite of the Ballon d'Or, but unfortunately his teammate Ronaldo is too strong, and his defender position is not favored by the Ballon d'Or judges, so he can only be second.
Finally, let's take a look at the eventual Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo. In fact, before 02, aliens had faded from people's attention for a long time due to injuries. In the 01/02 season, he made just 16 appearances for Inter, scoring seven goals and providing two assists. Inter had no results that season.
Fortunately, in the summer of 02, people saw the return of the alien king, with 8 goals and 1 assist in 7 games, which was the chief hero of the Brazilian team's victory. He also won the Golden Boot at this tournament, and the record of 8 goals also broke the curse of 6 goals for the top scorer since the 78 World Cup.
After the World Cup, Ronaldo chose to bid farewell to Milan City, and his new club is Real Madrid. At that time, Real Madrid was implementing a policy of one superstar a year, and was also a Champions League champion, and the limelight was unmatched, and such a platform with exposure was also necessary to win the Ballon d'Or. In the end, Ronaldo won his second Ballon d'Or that year.