Fabio Fallout: The Ballon d’Or Reaction

How did you celebrate the news that Fabio Cannavaro received the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s top footballer? I rushed out and bought this little doll to add to my nativity scene. Nice doll, but those tiny enormous muscles might just cause an immaculate conception over by the manger. The reaction to the Cannavaro announcement has not been one of universal joy and yuletide spirit. In fact, a lot of people are less than pleased that the Golden Ball would be given to the Italian defender.

The views reflect what many of you have posted with your comments. There are those who feel Cannavaro doesn’t deserve the award because he wasn’t super all year long, those who think another player like Thierry Henry or Samuel Eto’o are more deserving, and those who agree that the Golden Ball belongs in Cannavaro’s biceps.

Leading the charge is Lyon coach Gerard Houllier who is of the mindset that Cannavaro is not a player worthy of the award:

“Compared to other players, Cannavaro certainly didn’t deserve it. “He had a great World Cup, but not a great season. You only need to look at what John Carew managed to do against him in the Champions League. Watching that game, you understand that it’s an abominable result.

“It’s a scandal and the thing that bothers me most is that Thierry Henry, a player who has been scoring 20 goals a season for years now and who played two finals last season, was not even taken into consideration. There was a negative campaign in his regard.”

Houllier is right about Cannavaro playing like a donkey last week and most of this season at Real Madrid, but the voting for the Ballon d’Or was finished well before that game. He is also right that Henry is a deserving player, but he also hasn’t lit the world on fire early this season.

A pair of French coaches offer up more moderate remarks, but also fall into the camp that believes the award shouldn’t be based solely on World cup performance:

“Fabio Cannavaro is a good player … but he’s not the Ballon d’Or. Thierry Henry was much more decisive throughout the season. I don’t understand it,” said Raymond Domenech.

Arsene Wenger: ” “It is a mistake. It shows that the people who vote look only at the World Cup, which when you speak about elite football, in my opinion, is the lowest level in football that you can see at the moment. Henry is the best footballer in England, top scorer in England, played in the Champions League final and in the World Cup final. No disrespect to Italy for winning the World Cup, but I think overall, Thierry had the better season.”

No surprise with either of those statements and there might be some truth to the fact that Henry had a better non-World Cup year than Cannavaro. There is also little denying, in my opinion, that Cannavaro had a better World Cup than Henry. Which one should be weighed more for the award? Tough question.

Finally, there is Cannavaro’s Italy coach Marcello Lippi whose view is that Cannavaro is worthy but the award represents something more:

“To have Cannavaro win the award and Buffon finish second is just the cherry on the cake in what has been an exceptional year for us. It is as though Cannavaro has collected the award on behalf of all the players that won the World Cup.”

Personally, I prefer icing on my cake and cherries on my sundae, but I think Lippi’s sentiments reflect how many people view this award. Cannavaro received the honor because he was the captain of an Italian team that redefined defensive stinginess. While the award is for an individual, it is more reflective of a team effort.

Right or wrong, I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a similar debate in a few weeks when the FIFA Player of the Year award is announced.

Some Related Stories:

Category: World Football