Fifa Ballon d'Or 2013 - discussion thread.

764dak

The Golden Miller wrote: »

I think andersonisgod is referring to the way the mentioned players grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and bossed and dictated it to the opposition. Exerting their influence by pulling the strings through the center and near single handedly beating the opposition regardless of whether they personally scored or not. Predictably Ronaldo fans are about to fall back on the fact Ronaldo got a header in the 08 final, and equate this to the same as going above and beyond to dragging his team to glory

It's not possible to do that.

The Golden Miller

764dak wrote: »

It's not possible to do that.

I love the way Ronaldo fans never actually discuss the points put to them, instead favouring the sidetrack the point with the semantics of how something was phrased when they know very well what was meant.

764dak

The Golden Miller wrote: »

I think andersonisgod is referring to the way the mentioned players grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and bossed and dictated it to the opposition. Exerting their influence by pulling the strings through the center and near single handedly beating the opposition regardless of whether they personally scored or not. Predictably Ronaldo fans are about to fall back on the fact Ronaldo got a header in the 08 final, and equate this to the same as going above and beyond to dragging his team to glory

How can a winger exert their influence regularly through the centre?

Liam O

The Golden Miller wrote: »

I think andersonisgod is referring to the way the mentioned players grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and bossed and dictated it to the opposition. Exerting their influence by pulling the strings through the center and near single handedly beating the opposition regardless of whether they personally scored or not. Predictably Ronaldo fans are about to fall back on the fact Ronaldo got a header in the 08 final, and equate this to the same as going above and beyond to dragging his team to glory

Sowhat you're saying is that Ronaldo wasn't United's key player in 2008? In the 2009 tournament when United made the final he also was key in getting there. He holds the record for Classico goals unless I'm mistaken.

You'd swear Messi wasn't playing with some all time greats the way he's going on. Ronaldo has never played with 2 players of the ilk of Xavi and Iniesta. Obviously he's played with some great players but Xavi and Iniesta during the period people are judging it on is the difference between the 2 teams imo.

I've been saying for years there's no separating them, when you get to the numbers they do it's splitting hairs imo.

Corholio

The Golden Miller wrote: »

I love the way Ronaldo fans never actually discuss the points put to them, instead favouring the sidetrack the point with the semantics of how something was phrased when they know very well what was meant.

On the point of 'dragging your team over the line' to win finals etc.

Pippo Inzaghi has 8 goals in finals, much more than Messi or Ronaldo. At no time IMO was he ever considered the best player in the world.

If Messi scored 100 goals next year and won nothing, it means he can't win Ballon D'or right?

The Golden Miller

764dak wrote: »

How can a winger exert their influence regularly through the centre?

He's an out and out striker these days. And when Messi starts on the wing he tends to roam into the centre and does it

The Golden Miller

Corholio wrote: »

On the point of 'dragging your team over the line' to win finals etc.

Pippo Inzaghi has 8 goals in finals, much more than Messi or Ronaldo. At no time IMO was he ever considered the best player in the world.

If Messi scored 100 goals next year and won nothing, it means he can't win Ballon D'or right?

Of course he could win it as he has so many more dimensions to his game than scoring goals alone, like being a central creative playmaker in Barcelona
. Greatness isn't defined by how many goals you score, and you've shown that with your example about Inzaghi.

Corholio

The Golden Miller wrote: »

Of course he could win it as he has so many more dimensions to his game than scoring goals alone, like being a central creative playmaker in Barcelona
. Greatness isn't defined by how many goals you score, and you've shown that with your example about Inzaghi.

So Ronaldo just scores goals then? More chances created, more crosses, more duels won, more tackles won and more blocks than Messi.

Of course your just going to relay that Messi was injured for some of the year, but some of those stats are significantly higher regardless. Ronaldo has a lot more facets to his game than just scoring.

The Golden Miller

Liam O wrote: »

Sowhat you're saying is that Ronaldo wasn't United's key player in 2008? In the 2009 tournament when United made the final he also was key in getting there. He holds the record for Classico goals unless I'm mistaken.

You'd swear Messi wasn't playing with some all time greats the way he's going on. Ronaldo has never played with 2 players of the ilk of Xavi and Iniesta. Obviously he's played with some great players but Xavi and Iniesta during the period people are judging it on is the difference between the 2 teams imo.

I've been saying for years there's no separating them, when you get to the numbers they do it's splitting hairs imo.

He was one of a number of key players at United alright, and contributed many important goals. But I don't think he ever was the driving factor to them actually winning the Champions League. I remember against a Barcelona team in transition he didn't score over the two legs and was completely anonymous, yet a young Messi who just returned from injury didn't score either but played a blinder with little help to no help from anyone else. He scored in the final but again, did little else in general play.

No Ronaldo hasn't score the most goals in El Classico. Has 12 I think. Messi has 18 along with someone else, although I could be mistaken myself

The Golden Miller

Corholio wrote: »

So Ronaldo just scores goals then? More chances created, more crosses, more duels won, more tackles won and more blocks than Messi.

Of course your just going to relay that Messi was injured for some of the year, but some of those stats are significantly higher regardless. Ronaldo has a lot more facets to his game than just scoring.

I'm aware he has more facets to his game than just scoring, he has to or he wouldn't be on the field. I just think his creativity, vision, and general playmaking are pretty poor in comparison to some of the top players out there. He's far and away the best at what he does which is scoring goals (second only to Messi in the goal scoring stakes), but take that away and his general play leaves alot to be desired.

Dempsey

He doesnt need to be a jack of all trades to win the Ballon D'Or. Goals win games and he scored more than anyone else, provided 15+ assists too. Remember that Michael Owen has a Ballon D'Or...

If you are trying to find a stick to beat him with, you are currently using a twig!

Dolph Starbeam

FIFA have announced the Reserve World XI: Casillas, David Luiz, Pique, Marcelo, Alaba; Ozil, Bale, Y.Toure; Neymar, Falcao, Van Persie.


and the Third string World XI: Buffon, Alba, Kompany, Dante, Hummels; Pirlo, Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso; Lewandowski, Cavani, Aguero


and Fourth string World XI: VALDES, Vidic, Varane, Cole, Pepe; Robben, Busquets, Vidal; Suarez, Rooney, Balotelli


and the Fifth string World XI: Cech, Ivanovic, Baines, Boateng, Zabaleta; Gerrard, Reus, Isco; Drogba, Mandzukic, Diego Costa

Some unbelievable decisions here.

bucketybuck

YayaBanana wrote: »

Some unbelievable decisions here.

Is that David Luiz of Chelsea in the reserve 11? :eek:

Skylinehead

YayaBanana wrote: »

Some unbelievable decisions here.

Wow how little recognition can Schweinsteiger and Vidal get. They should be in the first team no doubt.

Not even going to bother with Gerrard being there :pac:

LuckyLloyd

Love the narrative of Barcelona as plucky, underesourced underdogs with the modern version of Matt Le Tessier in the loyalty stakes at the helm bravely fighting the monolithic Real Madrid. Good stuff.

Too Tough To Die

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Love the narrative of Barcelona as plucky, underesourced underdogs with the modern version of Matt Le Tessier in the loyalty stakes at the helm bravely fighting the monolithic Real Madrid. Good stuff.

Ok mate...

Backstreet Moyes

The Golden Miller wrote: »

He was one of a number of key players at United alright, and contributed many important goals. But I don't think he ever was the driving factor to them actually winning the Champions League. I remember against a Barcelona team in transition he didn't score over the two legs and was completely anonymous, yet a young Messi who just returned from injury didn't score either but played a blinder with little help to no help from anyone else. He scored in the final but again, did little else in general play.

No Ronaldo hasn't score the most goals in El Classico. Has 12 I think. Messi has 18 along with someone else, although I could be mistaken myself

He was the key player for United to win the Champions League. 9 goals and 2 assists in 11 games including opening the scoring in the final. When you consider at the time he was more of a winger that is a sensational return.

Below i will comment on your point about Ronaldo being anonymous over both legs and Messi playing a blinder.

You say he had little or no help from anybody else from a team in transition let's look at the game from Old Trafford. A game where Barca dominated for large parts and United focused on defending. Below the stat's show that Messi got more help in an attacking sense than Ronaldo.

http://www.football-lineups.com/match/23478/

Match Stats
7 Shots 14
2 Shots on gol 3
18 Fouls 12
5 Corner Kicks 4
4 Offsides 4
42 Time % 58
27.4 Age Avg 26.7
1.81 Height Avg 1.78
1.98 Height Max 1.89


You claim the Barcelona team was in transition let's have a look at the team below and see all the average players that started. Right their just looking at the attacking options. Deco, Yaya Toure, Xavi, Iniesta and Etoo probably all world class players. Some transition alright he must have been kicking himself with the lack of service.

Valdes

ZAmbrotta Puyol Milito Abidal

Xavi Yaya Toure Deco

Messi Iniesta

Etoo

Lets look at United's starting 11. For you to say Barca were in transition as some sort of excuse is just lies. On paper Barca had the stronger team.

Van Der Saar

Hargraves Brown Ferdinand Evra

Scholes Fletcher

Ronaldo Park Nani

Tevez

Now let's look at the first leg where Messi according to you had little or no help but Ronaldo did. So let's look at the stats below where Messi was starved of service and Ronaldo was getting set up with chance after chance by his teammates unlike poor Messi. Below are the stat's that show the complete opposite of your point. I suggest you go watch the games again and come back with a different opinion. Barca were a world class team who United spent two legs defending deep hoping to catch them with a goal on the counter which worked in the end. United focused more on defending than supporting Ronaldo and Barca focused more on attacking and supporting Messi. The fact is Messi had more chances and Ronaldo offered far more from a defensive point of view and done what was asked of him.

http://www.football-lineups.com/match/23477/

Match Stats
21 Shots 6
8 Shots on gol 1
10 Fouls 20
8 Corner Kicks 3
- Offsides 3
64 Time % 36
26.6 Age Avg 27.5
1.79 Height Avg 1.81
1.89 Height Max 1.98

Harvey Low Fat Milk

I'm surprised this opinion has been given any credence or replies whatsoever. If Ronaldo isn't world class then the term simply doesn't exist because he pretty much is the embodiment of it. As is Messi and a few names on that long list in the poll but Ronaldo was individually the best player so it's a no brainier as is the level of his talent which is world class!

DubDani

Didn't read the whole thread, so not sure if it was mentioned already.

Read yesterday that when you only take the journalists votes Ribery would have won by quite a margin.

Ribery 524
Ronaldo 399
Messi 365

Turtwig

DubDani wrote: »

Didn't read the whole thread, so not sure if it was mentioned already.

Read yesterday that when you only take the journalists votes Ribery would have won by quite a margin.

Ribery 524
Ronaldo 399
Messi 365

Ronaldo won it from the Football coaches apparently. As I said earlier the voting system is a joke Ribery had a great season but there's no way by any yardstick he played better than Ronaldo or Messi. Those two should be made battle it out for their own award if the media want to select awards based on team achievements or some other nonsense. Ronaldo, Messi are aliens to this world. Ronaldo thoroughly deserve the award this year and I'm really happy that he got it.

MD1990

The Golden Miller wrote: »

He was one of a number of key players at United alright, and contributed many important goals. But I don't think he ever was the driving factor to them actually winning the Champions League. I remember against a Barcelona team in transition he didn't score over the two legs and was completely anonymous, yet a young Messi who just returned from injury didn't score either but played a blinder with little help to no help from anyone else. He scored in the final but again, did little else in general play.

No Ronaldo hasn't score the most goals in El Classico. Has 12 I think. Messi has 18 along with someone else, although I could be mistaken myself

Barca had about 65 possesion in those games lol
Ronaldo played very well in the final
he was Utd's main outlet on the night & went past Essien at will
of course Messi has more he's played in more classico's & in a much better team

AdamD

Andersonisgod wrote: »

In the year 2013 Ronaldo has played with Ozil, Alonso, Modric, Benzema, Higuain, Di Maria, Bale and Isco. A side custom built for him. A custom built side which cost considerably more than the 3 players you listed above, infact I think the total cost of those players amounts to something rather close to 0.

Undoubtedly Messi is Barcelona's main man and he is ably assisted by a world class team, a team that costs quite a bit less than their Real Madrid counter parts and yet despite Ronaldo and Madrid's best efforts, Messi's Barcelona have dominated this era in Spain and have been far more successful in Europe.

Well money is utterly irrelevant here. If you're trying to argue its easy for him playing with players so good, here's a question for you: Who do you rate higher, that lot who cost hundreds of millions, or your 3 players who cost 0 between them?

Dempsey

Alot of shady news outlets, mainly foreign speaking, are running articles about this banner



Cant find any article on ESPN relating to it but I'm sure they are a spell checker in the office!

darced

This post has been deleted.

The Golden Miller

Nuts102 wrote: »

He was the key player for United to win the Champions League. 9 goals and 2 assists in 11 games including opening the scoring in the final. When you consider at the time he was more of a winger that is a sensational return.

Below i will comment on your point about Ronaldo being anonymous over both legs and Messi playing a blinder.

You say he had little or no help from anybody else from a team in transition let's look at the game from Old Trafford. A game where Barca dominated for large parts and United focused on defending. Below the stat's show that Messi got more help in an attacking sense than Ronaldo.

http://www.football-lineups.com/match/23478/

Match Stats
7 Shots 14
2 Shots on gol 3
18 Fouls 12
5 Corner Kicks 4
4 Offsides 4
42 Time % 58
27.4 Age Avg 26.7
1.81 Height Avg 1.78
1.98 Height Max 1.89


You claim the Barcelona team was in transition let's have a look at the team below and see all the average players that started. Right their just looking at the attacking options. Deco, Yaya Toure, Xavi, Iniesta and Etoo probably all world class players. Some transition alright he must have been kicking himself with the lack of service.

Valdes

ZAmbrotta Puyol Milito Abidal

Xavi Yaya Toure Deco

Messi Iniesta

Etoo

Lets look at United's starting 11. For you to say Barca were in transition as some sort of excuse is just lies. On paper Barca had the stronger team.

Van Der Saar

Hargraves Brown Ferdinand Evra

Scholes Fletcher

Ronaldo Park Nani

Tevez

Now let's look at the first leg where Messi according to you had little or no help but Ronaldo did. So let's look at the stats below where Messi was starved of service and Ronaldo was getting set up with chance after chance by his teammates unlike poor Messi. Below are the stat's that show the complete opposite of your point. I suggest you go watch the games again and come back with a different opinion. Barca were a world class team who United spent two legs defending deep hoping to catch them with a goal on the counter which worked in the end. United focused more on defending than supporting Ronaldo and Barca focused more on attacking and supporting Messi. The fact is Messi had more chances and Ronaldo offered far more from a defensive point of view and done what was asked of him.

http://www.football-lineups.com/match/23477/

Match Stats
21 Shots 6
8 Shots on gol 1
10 Fouls 20
8 Corner Kicks 3
- Offsides 3
64 Time % 36
26.6 Age Avg 27.5
1.79 Height Avg 1.81
1.89 Height Max 1.98

Who are you trying to fool here? That Barca team was hopeless. Rijkaard had lost the dressing room and was on the way out. They played the same possession game they always played as they knew no different but it was slow and blunt, and Messi was their only creative force in the team in that tie. I think it's you who needs to go back an analysis the game instead of hiding behind and churning out stats.Your actually proving what I'm say. I made some points and you and Dempsey don't actually want to discuss the points, rather just throw out some more stats about goals as Ronaldo fans tend to do. Messi despite not scoring played two exceptional games, Ronaldo sauntered around anonymously like he normally does when he isn't scoring.

bucketybuck

The Golden Miller wrote: »

Your actually proving what I'm say. I made some points and you and Dempsey don't actually want to discuss the points, rather just throw out some more stats about goals as Ronaldo fans tend to do. Messi despite not scoring played two exceptional games, Ronaldo sauntered around anonymously like he normally does when he isn't scoring.

You wrote a load of tosh to be honest, and now you are doing it again.

If you want to believe that Ronaldo doesn't deserve the award then go right ahead, thats up to you. But don't bother trying to pretend that any of the highlighted stuff above is anything but your horribly biased opinion.

Backstreet Moyes

The Golden Miller wrote: »

Who are you trying to fool here? That Barca team was hopeless. Rijkaard had lost the dressing room and was on the way out. They played the same possession game they always played as they knew no different but it was slow and blunt, and Messi was their only creative force in the team in that tie. I think it's you who needs to go back an analysis the game instead of hiding behind and churning out stats.Your actually proving what I'm say. I made some points and you and Dempsey don't actually want to discuss the points, rather just throw out some more stats about goals as Ronaldo fans tend to do. Messi despite not scoring played two exceptional games, Ronaldo sauntered around anonymously like he normally does when he isn't scoring.

Barca 35 shots on goal 11 on target.
United 13 shots on goal 3 on target.

You can try talk about possession football all you want but stats are very relevant to this point. Possession can be misleading but i don't see how you can deny Barca were the more attacking and dominant team. The fact is Messi got much better service but couldn't score over both legs.

OnTheCouch

Feel a little sorry for Ronaldo, insofar as his second triumph looks like it is going to be looked back in retrospect as the one that he only won because 'the voting dates got changed' which of coursed allowed for his exceptional performance in the World Cup play-off to be taken into consideration.

To play devil's advocate, it could be contested that players from automatic qualifiers were ironically penalised for having been good enough to get through directly, as they had no high-profile games at the latter end of the voting (which is also inevitably going to the memory most fresh in the mind). Had Sweden qualified instead of Portugal, Zlatan may well have sneaked into the top three and Ronaldo missed out again on the top prize. Although the other side of the argument is that these two have weaker national teams and therefore have to up their game even more at international level.

I personally think Ribery should have won, even though one could easily argue someone as freakishly talented as Ronaldo should not retire having only triumphed in one Ballon d'Or competition. I think Messi was injured far too much to be in contention, would have been rather farcical had he pulled it off again and I am a big fan of his.

However, as much as you can argue that the journalists don't understand the game as well as the players, I think the latter group are by definition going to be somewhat biased in favour of their team-mates, whether this be at club or country level. The media representatives, whereas some of their previous decisions may have been slightly odd (Michael Owen for instance), at least you can argue they are more equitable, or if nothing else, more neutral than the footballers. Hence why I preferred the old voting system of the original Ballon d'Or.

However, FIFA taking it over has made large aspects of the whole affair a bit of a joke and a charade to be honest. As someone else said, it seems to be more of a popularity contest in some ways. FIFA also has an annoying obsession with Brazilian and Spanish players, whereas these are two of the best teams in the world, I think some of the individual representatives were picked on reputation and popularity in the various selected teams, especially Xavi, Iniesta, Dani Alves, David Luiz, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, plus to a lesser degree Pique and Neymar. How some of these players got chosen so high is quite frankly baffling.

SlickRic

The UEFA Team of the Year:

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)
Thiago Silva (Paris St Germain and Brazil)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany)
David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund and Germany)
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal and Germany)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain and Sweden)

no Messi :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Turtwig

SlickRic wrote: »

The UEFA Team of the Year:

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)
Thiago Silva (Paris St Germain and Brazil)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany)
David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund and Germany)
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal and Germany)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain and Sweden)

no Messi :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Apart from Messi's absence, which in a way can be justified, I think that's an excellent selection.

SlickRic

Schweinsteiger for Ozil and Robben for Bale, and you've it pretty much nailed IMO.

i'd have Messi instead of Ibra.

Dempsey

SlickRic wrote: »

The UEFA Team of the Year:

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)
Thiago Silva (Paris St Germain and Brazil)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany)
David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund and Germany)
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal and Germany)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain and Sweden)

no Messi :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Which midfielder is going to put in a tackle or track back? :pac:

I prefer the UEFA Team of the Year to the FifPRO one despite Messi's absence.

Turtwig

SlickRic wrote: »

Schweinsteiger for Ozil and Robben for Bale, and you've it pretty much nailed IMO.

i'd have Messi instead of Ibra.

Yeah I'd agree with that.

Talib Fiasco

Bale and Ozil is very very sketchy sketchy...and Ibra as well. Having no Messi is a joke though. Injured or not, it's a bigger joke than having Alves on the World XI. Delighted to see Reus listed.

764dak

Nuts102 wrote: »

He was the key player for United to win the Champions League. 9 goals and 2 assists in 11 games including opening the scoring in the final. When you consider at the time he was more of a winger that is a sensational return.

Below i will comment on your point about Ronaldo being anonymous over both legs and Messi playing a blinder.

You say he had little or no help from anybody else from a team in transition let's look at the game from Old Trafford. A game where Barca dominated for large parts and United focused on defending. Below the stat's show that Messi got more help in an attacking sense than Ronaldo.

http://www.football-lineups.com/match/23478/

Match Stats
7 Shots 14
2 Shots on gol 3
18 Fouls 12
5 Corner Kicks 4
4 Offsides 4
42 Time % 58
27.4 Age Avg 26.7
1.81 Height Avg 1.78
1.98 Height Max 1.89


You claim the Barcelona team was in transition let's have a look at the team below and see all the average players that started. Right their just looking at the attacking options. Deco, Yaya Toure, Xavi, Iniesta and Etoo probably all world class players. Some transition alright he must have been kicking himself with the lack of service.

Valdes

ZAmbrotta Puyol Milito Abidal

Xavi Yaya Toure Deco

Messi Iniesta

Etoo

Lets look at United's starting 11. For you to say Barca were in transition as some sort of excuse is just lies. On paper Barca had the stronger team.

Van Der Saar

Hargraves Brown Ferdinand Evra

Scholes Fletcher

Ronaldo Park Nani

Tevez

Now let's look at the first leg where Messi according to you had little or no help but Ronaldo did. So let's look at the stats below where Messi was starved of service and Ronaldo was getting set up with chance after chance by his teammates unlike poor Messi. Below are the stat's that show the complete opposite of your point. I suggest you go watch the games again and come back with a different opinion. Barca were a world class team who United spent two legs defending deep hoping to catch them with a goal on the counter which worked in the end. United focused more on defending than supporting Ronaldo and Barca focused more on attacking and supporting Messi. The fact is Messi had more chances and Ronaldo offered far more from a defensive point of view and done what was asked of him.

http://www.football-lineups.com/match/23477/

Match Stats
21 Shots 6
8 Shots on gol 1
10 Fouls 20
8 Corner Kicks 3
- Offsides 3
64 Time % 36
26.6 Age Avg 27.5
1.79 Height Avg 1.81
1.89 Height Max 1.98

I'm on the Ronaldo side of this debate but I think you are overrating this Barca team. This Barca team only finished 3rd in La Liga. Despite having a 5-2 lead against Getafe in the Copa del Rey lost 4-0 in the second leg. Many people at the time didn't even rate Xavi that much.

However, in the 2008 preseason when Guardiola took over I noticed something exceptional about this Barca team. Barca swept aside Chivas Guadalajara and NY Red Bulls 5-2 and 6-2, respectively. Most of Barcelona's previous preseason matches against Mexican and MLS oppositions were rather close but these two games were not close at all.

The difference between the Rijkard and post-Rijkard Barcelona might be down to this: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056873288

Skylinehead

SlickRic wrote: »

Schweinsteiger for Ozil and Robben for Bale, and you've it pretty much nailed IMO.

i'd have Messi instead of Ibra.

Messi instead of Reus, Zlatan was supreme and deserves his place.

Leaves an unbalanced team but sure its full of wingers as it is anyway.

Alfred Borden

Im guessing messi isnt on it because its uefa meaning its only for players that represent european countries and not everyone and so messi wouldnt be on it because he is Argentinian

764dak

Raf32 wrote: »

Im guessing messi isnt on it because its uefa meaning its only for players that represent european countries and not everyone and so messi wouldnt be on it because he is Argentinian

Thiago Silva is there and he is Brazilian.

Turtwig

Raf32 wrote: »

Im guessing messi isnt on it because its uefa meaning its only for players that represent european countries and not everyone and so messi wouldnt be on it because he is Argentinian

Thiago Silva must have defected so. :pac:

Dempsey

Raf32 wrote: »

Im guessing messi isnt on it because its uefa meaning its only for players that represent european countries and not everyone and so messi wouldnt be on it because he is Argentinian

Then why is Thiago Silva on it?

Skylinehead

Raf32 wrote: »

Im guessing messi isnt on it because its uefa meaning its only for players that represent european countries and not everyone and so messi wouldnt be on it because he is Argentinian

Thiago Silva is a bit Brazilian looking :pac:

Alfred Borden

sorry i didnt see silva in it, my mistake, carry on :pac:

Talib Fiasco

Yeah and sure that Ronaldo lad is Brazilian...

kksaints

SlickRic wrote: »

The UEFA Team of the Year:

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)
Thiago Silva (Paris St Germain and Brazil)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany)
David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund and Germany)
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal and Germany)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain and Sweden)

no Messi :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Its the uefa.com users team of the year. Its an internet poll.

TimeToShine

Why is Messi off that team such a shock? He missed nearly half the year. When you miss over 40% of the year then nobody really has the right to be shocked when he isn't selected.

Dolph Starbeam

TimeToShine wrote: »

Why is Messi off that team such a shock? He missed nearly half the year. When you miss over 40% of the year then nobody really has the right to be shocked when he isn't selected.

As I posted already, Messi did not miss 40% of the season. He only played 11 games less than Ronaldo.

YayaBanana wrote: »

Turtwig

Regardless of what proportion of the season Messi missed he still played phenomenally for Argentina and Barca in some games. So unless it was like 90% absentee then I'd say the little guy deserves his place anyway. He's just unreal to watch. That said, I'd guess most UEFA folk didn't watch Argentina's games.

Dolph Starbeam

Jernal wrote: »

Regardless of what proportion of the season Messi missed he still played phenomenally for Argentina and Barca in some games. So unless it was like 90% absentee then I'd say the little guy deserves his place anyway. He's just unreal to watch. That said, I'd guess most UEFA folk didn't watch Argentina's games.

Isn't the team voted from visitors to their website? I might be wrong on that though.

Shanotheslayer

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1875328-why-cristiano-ronaldos-ballon-dor-sends-the-wrong-message Great read on why Ronaldo should not have won.

Liam O

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1875328-why-cristiano-ronaldos-ballon-dor-sends-the-wrong-message Great read on why Ronaldo should not have won.

Ha! The 'doesn't do it in the big games' attack rears it's ugly head again. Hilariously bad reporting.