Former Spain star Gaizka Mendieta reveals who he thinks should win ...
Tuesday 2 December 2014 14:26, UK
Following Monday’s announcement of the short list for this year’s Ballon d’Or award, we take a look at the credentials of the three men in the running to be nominated the best player in the world for 2014.
And while the identity of two of those star performers was no surprise at all, with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo having dominated this award over the course of the last six years, the third candidate in the running was more of a surprise.
However, Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer will line up alongside his two rivals at FIFA’s gala event in Switzerland in January hoping to become the first goalkeeper since Russia’s Lev Yashin in 1963 to win the prestigious individual award.
And According to former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Gaizka Mendieta, the Germany and Bayern No 1 fully deserves to be crowned the world’s best footballer of 2014.
“For me, it is time for someone else to win it,” Mendieta told Revista de la Liga.
“And I think Neuer deserves to win it. This is the total goalkeeper and like when Fabio Cannavaro won it (in 2006), I think somebody (other than Messi or Ronaldo) deserves to win it this year.
“He can play with his feet, he can play with his hands, he can help out as a sweeper and obviously, he is a world champion too.
“He has won absolutely everything and so he has the same merits as both Messi and Ronaldo, if we take away the goals and just talk about football in general. And so why not him?”
Neuer has become the first keeper since Juventus and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon’s in 2006 to make the three-man short list.
And having conceded just 13 goals this year, fewer than any goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues to have featured in a minimum of 20 matches, the 28-year-old has a strong claim to win the award.
Meanwhile, both Messi and Ronaldo are also strong contenders after enjoying eye-catching years in front of goal themselves.
Barcelona playmaker Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or on four previous occasions, recently became the all-time leading goalscorer in both La Liga and the Champions League.
As for his great rival Ronaldo, who won the award last year for the second time in his career, the Portuguese forward has managed to net an incredible 28 goals already this season in all competitions.
What do you think? Who should win this year’s Ballon d’Or, Messi, Ronaldo or Neuer? Tweet your views @SkyFootball or post a comment on this story if you’re reading on the desktop website.
