It was a moment when Real Madrid and
Portugal fans grabbed their jerseys and kissed their crests with much passion,
girls wept tears of joy for the much sought after object of their affection and
Portuguese women named their new-born sons Cristiano or perhaps Ronaldo. The
occasion in question? Cristiano Ronaldo winning the FIFA Ballon d`Or award for
the second year running and the third overall on Monday after a prolific,
trophy-filled year with Real Madrid. Ronaldo was voted ahead of Barcelona and
Argentina forward Lionel Messi, his bitter rival (as many fans will attest to),
as well as Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
However, some fans are looking beyond just the current result. Rohit Pagi, a Manchester United fan from Margao feels that while Ronaldo deserved to win, there isn’t enough appreciation for other players, sometimes caused by a lack of recognition. “There is no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or as he was the best player in the year 2014. However, I think it’s high time FIFA reviewed the entire process of selection of winner by votes otherwise the world’s best player will always be a forward or at most a midfielder. For instance, I don’t know what a goalkeeper needs to do to win a Ballon d’Or. What else could Manuel Neuer have done to win this award? It almost seems like winning the World Cup, the Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal is not enough purely on the basis of his being a goalkeeper. It also seems like if one is not playing for bigger clubs, a player’s talent isn’t recognised. This seems evident from the fact that no players from Atletico Madrid, who won La Liga and reached in UEFA Champions League Final weren’t even recognised,” he says.
Contesting this theory, Vance Noronha, a Tottenham and Messi fan from Calangute, believes that while there are many candidates, they need to do their best if they expect to topple the world’s greatest players from their thrones. “Yes, I believe that it may come across as a two-horse race. Why wouldn’t it? They’ve won the last seven outings between the two of them, exclusively. Does this mean that FIFA should give away the prize to other contenders out of pity? Let them step up their game if they want to compete. Ronaldo deserved this one, hands down,” he says.
While opinions may differ and the Messi fans may stay silent, what remains undisputed is that Cristiano Ronaldo or CR7, as he is popularly known, will reign supreme for another year.