Recently, according to the Spanish local media "As" news, Barca legendary striker "African Cheetah" Eto'o said in an interview that it is difficult for African players to win the Ballon d'Or, which has a lot to do with the selection mechanism of the award.
Born on 10 March 1981 in cameroon, Africa, Eto'o joined Barcelona in the 2004–2005 season and left in the summer of 2009. In his career, he has won three Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, two African Cup of Nations titles, four African Footballer of the Year and one Olympic gold medal. On September 7, 2019, it was announced that we would hang up our boots. However, Eto'o's interview is not as a player or a Barca legend, but as a global ambassador for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Eto'o said: "Some Africans with voting power do not have so much trust in their players on their continent, but the selection mechanism of the Ballon d'Or depends entirely on their votes." As you can see, such things will only happen in Africa. Players from other continents would have won votes from their continents if they had been very good this season, but African players have not been treated that way. ”
"I've always stressed that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best players in football over the last many years and they may be from another planet. But many years have passed and now African players like Mane have come to the fore, he is an absolute workhorse at Liverpool and his role is very important. Mane scored in all kinds of games and won almost every title, but he didn't win the Ballon d'Or, why? Because those who have the right to vote think that the Ballon d'Or winners should come from other continents and not Africa, even though we African players are already a lot better than them, we are not getting the recognition we deserve. ”
Eto'o's dissatisfaction is not unfounded, and friends familiar with football may know very well that the Ballon d'Or award was held by the magazine "French Football" in 1956 and has been successfully held for 63 years so far, during which although the rules of the selection have been changed several times, only one African player from Liberia, Georges Wea, has won the award. This is obviously unfair to the talented African players, especially the emergence of super-first-class African superstars like Mane and Salah, whose performances and achievements are absolutely more than enough to win a Golden Globe award if they are replaced by other continental players, unfortunately, they are from Africa, they do not get the honor they deserve.
We have been pursuing equality between men and women, equality for all people and even equality for all beings, but in football, equality may still be a luxury. This is not something that can be changed by one person or one thing, and it may require the combined efforts of one or more generations. But we should firmly believe that one day, the dawn of equality will shine in every corner of football, even every corner of the world!
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