101 reasons why Jose should pipe it!

Now I always promised myself I would never write a piece about this topic, but a “special” comment made this week was the last straw.

A week ago we were privileged to watch arguably the two greatest footballers ever, in what was a fantastic game of football. They did not disappoint and both made a claim as to why they should win Ballon D’Or this year.

Unfortunately we have a lot of idiotic, uneducated football fans that would prefer to engage in childish banter than cherish such a special moment in the game. The performances that we witnessed from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be stories that we pass on to our kids. Yes they were that good!

As January 7^th approaches, the conversation of who should be crowned FIFA player of the year heats up, and this season it couldn’t get any closer. Ronaldo and Messi were once again superior to every other player in the world, but in October it’s still too close to call. Lionel Messi has won the award for three consecutive years, but over the last 12 months Ronaldo has given the world reasons why he should receive the award.

Over the years we’ve heard it all from these repulsive so called ‘fans’ that support these two players due to club and cultural ties.  “Ronaldo doesn’t score in big games,” yet he’s scored in the last six consecutive Clasicos. “Messi wouldn’t be able to dominate in England,” but to my knowledge Sergio Aguero, Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla, Yaya Toure and David Silva just to name a few, came from La Liga and are dominating the Premier League with ease. “They need to win a World cup to be one of the greatest,” sorry folks but these two men dominate the Champions League in which we see the best players around the world fight for Europe’s top prize yearly.

Why must we partake in such moronic arguments? Why can’t we appreciate these two talents for providing us with breathtaking moments of individual brilliance?  When these players hang up their boots it’s going to be a sad day for football, as we may never witness a rivalry of this magnitude in which two players dominate the same generation ever again.

Now is Lionel Messi the best player in the world? Yes.

Is Messi the best player to play the game? He’s well on his way at the age of 25.

Will he win Ballon D’Or this year? He might not.

Ronaldo has closed the gap between both superstars over the last 12 months and deserves the award just as much as Messi. Many believe Ronaldo has the edge due to his involvement at the Euros, but in all honesty he only had one “good” game.

Frankly, both players deserve it and who ever lifts the prestigious award on that special night will be worthy of the accolade.

Unfortunately over the past several weeks, we’ve been forced to see Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho desperately campaign over why Ronaldo should receive the Ballon D’Or in January. “If Messi is the best in the planet, Ronaldo is the best in the universe,” Mourinho said. He also added that a player needed to win big titles to win the prestigious award and if Ronaldo does not win it is because of his image.

Well Mr. Mourinho the Ballon D’Or highlights the player of the year not the team of the year so winning “big” titles is not the only way to win the title. Winning La Liga is a remarkable achievement and should not be overlooked, but a solidary team award should not and most likely will not decide who the best player of 2012 is.

On a serious note if the Madrid manager feels this way then Andrea Pirlo who enjoyed an unbeaten season in the Serie A and single handedly led Italy to the European Championship Final should be considered. Fernando Torres who won the Champions League, FA Cup, European Championship and the Golden boot should be a worthy candidates for the award.

Now I’m not here to push a campaign as to why Messi should win Ballon D’Or because that would be inane. The fact of the matter is Mourinho’s statements are quite hysterical.

Whether Mourinho is playing mind games or if he truly means what he stated is his prerogative, but his claims are simply naïve and frivolous.

Keep quiet Mourinho, Ronaldo’s performances have done the talking and we don’t need to hear your petty and biased input on who should win Ballon D’Or. Furthermore, I have 101 reasons as to why Mourinho’s campaign is an absolute farce.

Tyrrell Meertins