October 29th is a date that every football fan had marked on their calendar when the world’s best players get together and are celebrated for their outstanding achievements. The Ballon d’Or is similar to the NFL season honors except more prestigious for soccer.
So what awards are given you might be wondering?
There are several awards each with their own history. The Yashin trophy named after Lev Yashin is given to the Best Goalkeeper for the season, the Kapa trophy is awarded to the best U-21, Ger Muller trophy for the most goals Ballon d’or French for Gold Ball is awarded to the best player and is voted on by 150 football journalists. Then there’s the best team award determined by which team has the most players on the Ballon d’Or shortlist.
Breakdown of each award:
Yashin trophy
The Yashin trophy was awarded to Aston Villa and Argentina shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez. He won the award for his standout performance in the World Cup including three saves in penalty shootouts and a heroic save against Randal Kolo Muani in the last seconds of extra time. The award is slightly controversial because Bonnou finished above him in the Ballon D’or shortlist
The award should have gone to Marc Andre Ter Stegen. He won La Liga with Barcelona and had a record-breaking season recording the most clean sheets in a single season. He had a phenomenal and historic season that should have been capped off with the Yashin Trophy
Kapa Trophy
The Kapa trophy is a fan favorite, it’s exciting to see the best youth players celebrated on a big stage. This season the trophy went to England and Real Madrid Galactico Jude Bellingham. Over the summer Jude got a big-time move to the legendary Real Madrid and he has not disappointed. He has had the best start at Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo. All of a sudden he has become a prolific goal scorer. The award is definitely deserved but it does have some recency bias due to his outstanding start at Madrid
Jude deserved the award but I wouldn’t complain if Alejandro Balde or Xavi Simmons won it. Both respectively had great seasons. For Simmons, a loan to PSV sparked a breakout season. Now in Leipzig, the young Dutch baller is on fire. Balde at the age of 20 has solidified himself as a top 10 defender in the world. He played a huge role in Barcelona’s stellar defense alongside Kounde and Araujo
Best Team
This award is simply given to the team that had the best performance and the most players on the Ballon D’or shortlist. The best women’s team was Barcelona for their domestic treble and having 6 players make the Ballon D’or shortlist. The men’s best team was Manchester City who also won a treble but had 7 players on the shortlist.
Mens Ballon D’or
Lionel Andres Messi made history yet again with his 8th Ballon D’or. he won the award for finally beating the trophy allegations and winning silverware with Argentina. This trophy for Messi feels more like a recognition for completing his career instead of his contributions. Yes, he had a great season but is winning the World Cup enough to give you the trophy. In the 2022-2023 calendar year Messi accumulated 32 goals and 25 assists in 55 games. As a lifelong Messi fan, I’m happy he won but this was a highway robbery.
Erling Haaland who finished in 2nd place had the most prolific season for a premier league striker. Not only was he the league’s top goalscorer he was also voted the UEFA Best Men’s Player meaning he is the best European player in the world. He was also the premier league player of the season as well as Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Premier League, and FA Cup winner. He scored 56 goals for club and country and won the Gerd Muller Trophy for most goals. Messi even said in his speech that it should have been Haaland’s trophy and it definitely will be in the next 5 years.
Women’s Ballon D’or
This year’s winner Bonmati had a fantastic season for Barcelona with a treble including the Champions League. It is obvious she deserved the award. Football’s biggest global stars all chimed in saying Bonmati would win including England’s Chloe Kelly who scored the winning goal in the Euro Finals.
The lows: what needs to happen for the future
For equality, there is a long way to go. The only awards for women are Best Team and the Ballon D’or. In the next couple of years, they need to add a women’s Yashin trophy, Kapa trophy, and Gerd Muller trophy. Another mistake they need to fix is having the ceremony be during the women’s international break…many of the players on the shortlist could not be there due to matches (England’s Chloe Kelly).
Besides that, the pundits and journalists voting for these prestigious awards need to stop making it appear rigged. Bias towards certain things that are out of players’ control. For example, if Emiliano Martinez didn’t save that last-second shot Haaland or Mbappe would have been giving a speech on the podium instead of Messi.
Players on the verge of a Ballon D’or
Jude Bellingham: if he keeps up his electric performances and continues to score goals there’s no reason that he shouldn’t win a Ballon D’or in the next 5 years
Kylian Mbappe: the hero of France, Mbappe put on a show at the World Cup. He continues to dominate the game. If he can lead PSG to a Champions League win it will increase his chances of winning the Ballon D’or
Erling Haaland: should have won it this year. He is already keeping up with his goal-scoring ways and has his eyes on the prize
Vinicius Jr: after a second breakout season he found himself 6th in the rankings. His goal-scoring and assist ratio last season were super impressive. If he can deliver in the big moments there’s no reason he shouldn’t
Jamal Musiala: while not on many watchers Ballon D’or radar he quietly had an impressive season for Bayern Munich. If he can get himself a move to a bigtime club that fans actually watch he might find himself being a top 10 player and making the Ballon D’or shortlist (Munich is big but not many people watch the Bundesliga)
