FIFA Ballon dOr Shortlist; Luis Suarez Missing? The Federation of International Football Association, FIFA released the names of 23 footballers in its FIFA Ballon dOr shortlist with former Liverpool marksman, Luis Suarez surprisingly excluded. The players that made the list include: 1. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, Wales) 2. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France) 3. Diego Costa (Athletico Madrid/Chelsea, Spain) 4. Thibaut Courtois (Athletico Madrid/Chelsea, Belgium) 5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal) 6. Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid/Manchester United, Argentina) 7. Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich, Germany) 8. Eden Hazard (Chelsea, Belgium) 9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG, Sweden) 10. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain) 11. Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid, Germany) 12. Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich, Germany) 13. Javier Mascherano (Barcelona, Argentina) 14. Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina) 15. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich, Germany) 16. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany) 17. Neymar (Barcelona, Brazil) 18. Paul Pogba (Juventus, France) 19. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain) 20. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich, Netherlands) 21. James Rodriguez (AS Monaco/Real Madrid, Colombia) 22. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich, Germany) 23. Yaya Toure (Manchester City, Ivory Coast) The Barcelona and Uruguay striker had a season to relish last in 2013/2014 scoring 31 league goals for the Reds before capping it with two goals in three appearances at the World Cup in Brazil, before the controversial biting incident earned him a three-month suspension from all footballing activities. Making the list should be based strictly on MERIT. And if personality traits and display of sportsmanship are to be put in the forray, it should spare noone. Yes, Luis Suarez did not wrap himself in much glory by biting Giorgio Chellini at the mundial in front of an estimated 2 billion viewers. But if a certain Zinidine Zidane could make the top three of FIFA world player of the year in 2006 after headbutting Marco Materazzi, why not Suarez? That is a show of double standard by the world football governing body and the journalists that selected those players. A closer inspection of that 23-man list reveals the kind of standard employed in making their picks. I expect to see a Jerome Boateng who was rock solid for Bayern Munich all season long and also made himself a rock in the heart of Germany defense en-route their conquering of the world in Brazil. The presence of Andres Iniesta ahead of the duo of Suarez and Boateng cannot be justified by FIFA and its journalists. All year long (including his three months off football), Luis Suarez was still better than at least five players on that shortlist. And Jerome Boateng put in a better shift for club and country more than Sergio Ramos. Now I am assuming they just needed to name a defender in that list. Not that peopli like me still hold FIFA in high esteem these days anyway, but as a global boday, it is high time FIFA went back to the drawing board and start rewarding excellence without a show of nepotism or double standard. HighBishop Gcon
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 05:20:20 +0000
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