10 - Lionel Messi - v2

[raskolnikov]

Hattrick vs Espanyol, pick up the Ballon d'or next day.
Would be a nice start of the new year

 

[Tazim]

love this one

 

[CatalinR10]

 

[Paganinisrvnge]

Anyone else excited for Messi's usual insane run of form in the 2nd half of the season? He was incredible in the first half of the season but I feel like now he is really going to turn it up. He's overdue for a hat-trick. I wonder what special performances he'll treat us to this 2nd half of the season. 2010 was 4 goals vs Arsenal, 2011 was brace vs Real Madrid, 2012 was 5 vs Leverkusen.

 

[Yannick03]

Anyone else excited for Messi's usual insane run of form in the 2nd half of the season? He was incredible in the first half of the season but I feel like now he is really going to turn it up. He's overdue for a hat-trick. I wonder what special performances he'll treat us to this 2nd half of the season. 2010 was 4 goals vs Arsenal, 2011 was brace vs Real Madrid, 2012 was 5 vs Leverkusen.

6 against Madrid in the UCL final

 

[Leo10]

91' bicycle kick winner goal vs Madrid UCL final.

 

[Papabeef]

6 against Madrid in the UCL final

that comment is just over the moon!!!!! Very slim chance......... that Madrid would reach the final

 

[Doobs]

Sid Lowe on the Ballon D'or voting system

 

[raskolnikov]

Players/coaches that can vote for nominees only make up a very small percentage of the total vote though.
I do wonder if the current system (since 2010) where coach/player/journalists vote is better than just journalists voting like in the past?

 

[jiopi]

I do wonder if the current system (since 2010) where coach/player/journalists vote is better than just journalists voting like in the past?

Why wouldn't it be? When the voting is based on subjective opinions, more voters is usually better because they represent the consensus more accurately. Not to mention, basing the vote on three different sectors of football, eliminates better the possible agenda of one.

 

[Garrus]

From 2005 until they decided to merge the two awards, The winners were the same, For the 2 awards

Ronaldinho 2005
Fabio Cannavaro 2006
Kaka 2007
Cristiano 2008
Messi 2009

Even the top 3 order were identical in the last 3 years, And with the dominance of messi and ronaldo in the last years, well the dominance of messi to be exact, I doubt it would have changed anything, If it remained a separate award .

 

[Het_fenomeen_Messi]

From 2005 until they decided to merge the two awards, The winners were the same, For the 2 awards

Ronaldinho 2005
Fabio Cannavaro 2006
Kaka 2007
Cristiano 2008
Messi 2009

Even the top 3 order were identical in the last 3 years, And with the dominance of messi and ronaldo in the last years, well the dominance of messi to be exact, I doubt it would have changed anything, If it remained a separate award .

well i think it was Sneijder who would have won one of the two in 2010 if they were still split (i read it somewhere)

 

[Semi-Neutral]

91' bicycle kick winner goal vs Madrid UCL final.

From 31 yards away with a keeper in the goal.

 

[MMKa]

Players/coaches that can vote for nominees only make up a very small percentage of the total vote though.
I do wonder if the current system (since 2010) where coach/player/journalists vote is better than just journalists voting like in the past?

Small? They are majority.
Players 33 %
Coaches 33 %
Journalists 33 %

And if it is like 2010 and 2011, almost all journalists, who can, vote but some of players and coaches don't. So, one player or coach vote weights more than a journalist vote.

Example: 10 players vote Messi, 15 coaches vote Iniesta, 150 journalists vote Cristiano and 1 journalist votes Messi. No other votes. Winner? Messi. 2nd: Iniesta and Cristiano. Those 10 votes are worth 151 journalist votes. (Actually it was 136, 136 and 154 in 2010)

But, comparing to earlier voting system: only 96 journalists voted (now over 150): every European country and every past World Cup final countries. They voted five names instead of three (points 5,4,3,2,1 vs 5,3,1 now).

In 2010, winner would have been Iniesta or Sneijder if it has been voted old style (only 94 journalists: Euro+WC). But however, no one can say how many 4th and 5th place votes there would have been and 2 of the countries did not vote, Faroe Island and Kuwait. So you actually can't compare the results.

2010, only 94/96 journalists voting 3 (not 5) best:
5,4,3 points:
Sneijder 258
Iniesta 226
Xavi 192
Messi 168
Forlan 155
All 2 and 1 points, and 10 points from Faroe Islands and Kuwait missing.

5,3,1 points for 1st,2nd,3rd:
Sneijder 196
Iniesta 187
Xavi 169
Messi 116
Forlan 100

 

[Xtroverto]

Players/coaches that can vote for nominees only make up a very small percentage of the total vote though.
I do wonder if the current system (since 2010) where coach/player/journalists vote is better than just journalists voting like in the past?

You can question pretty much every single year since the start of the award in 1956. I don't think there is any good way to judge a player based on subjective criteria. If the system was based on some kind of points based on performance but that can be ridiculed to, see Castrol for example. I think these awards are useless, in the end it is the trophies the players win that settles their place in history.