Ballon D’or , FIFA shortlist; an array of inconsistencies.
A couple days ago, Ballon D’or released their shortlist, and while there were a lot of excitement at the new names, there were a lot of outrage about the obvious omissions of some known names like England and Chelsea’s whiz-Lauren James and the lissom midfield maestro Kiera Walsh.
It looked like FIFA noticed this omission as both stars made the the FIFA best shortlist, however this was at the expense of some other core players. This article takes a deep dive into the nominations; do enjoy the talking points below.
Ballon d’or.
- The Omission and Inclusion of Lauren James and Kiera Walsh: There is no way you’d list the top 30 women football players in the world right now and Lauren James would not make the list, except for the Ballon d’or list of course. The obvious omission left the world agog as different football fans responded to the omission. Another worthy mention is Kiera Walsh. From being part of Barcelona’s treble-winning team to being a pivotal part of the Lionesses’ midfield, omitting such a brilliant player is an interesting act.
- The surprise inclusions: Yui Hasegawa’s expression below is ours- we were astounded. The Japanese gave a couple brilliant displays at the recently concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament and had a decent season at the club level, but a Ballon d’or nomination ? That’s too gracious a reward especially ahead of players like Walsh, James, Bronze and other players who could have made the list.
- New Kids on the bloc: Seeing new names like the Jamaican striker- Khadijah Shaw, the Colombian wonder kid- Linda Caicedo,the Spanish gem, Salma Paralluelo, and of course, Liga F’s top scorer for the 22/23 season- Alba Redondo felt refreshing to see as a football neutral.
FIFA BEST.
Precise, concise, straight to the point- the FIFA shortlist received less criticism than the Ballon d’or shortlist, it is however not without its highlights. A few of them are below
- Greenwood getting a slot ahead of Bright and Bronze : There is no doubt that Alex Greenwood had a fantastic tournament, however, being shortlisted ahead of Lucy Bronze who was a crucial part of Barcelona’s winning team and Millie Bright who captained the English team to the finals seems unfair. Digging deeper into their tournament statistic. Bronze led the list of ball interceptors with 16 interceptions compared to Greenwood’s 13 while Bright led the park of progressive ball-carriers- with 1135 compared to Greenwood’s 1120.
- Both Bronze and Bright were also part of their title winning season, whose defense and least goal conceded compared to Greenwood’s team, Manchester City, who finished 4th with more goals conceded. This is among other metrics that could be measured. While this point is not to dispute Greenwood’s brilliance, our opinion is that she should not have made either lists ahead of Bright and Bronze.
- The Youngstars are storming the stage: Linda Caicedo, Salma Paralluelo and Lauren James have taken the stage and are now delivering peak performances.
From Caicedo whose wonder goal against Germany won the FIFA WWC goal of the tournament, to Paralluelo whose wonder-strikes in the quarters and semis ensured the Spanish made it to the finals, and Lauren James 5-star performance of 2 goals and 3 assists in a single match- these starlights have played like champions, and football fans will take delight in watching them for the next decade. - Chiamaka Nnadozie’s omission from the Best keeper’s list: Despite having more clean sheets, a penalty save, and one of the best seasons with Paris FC, the omission of the Nigeria’s shotstopper while including a second keeper of another club is another major flaw from FIFA’s shortlist. Chiamaka had a higher clean-sheet percentage (75%) and save percentage (87.5%) than all the keepers on the shortlist including Mary Earps and Zecira Musovc. Thus, not making the shortlist is a huge slap on the committee’s sense of judgement.
Shortlists are always argumentative, people have their preferred players, but more important than the shortlists are those who will climb the podium and those who will claim the ultimate prize.
We asked our members to rank their top three for both Ballon d’or and the FIFA best, below is how they voted.
Ballon d’or.
Cornelius:
Winner: Aitana Bonmati
Second: Salma Paralluelo
Third: Millie Bright
Debanke
Winner: Aitana Bonmati
Second: Sam Kerr
Third: Hinata Miyazawa
Faith:
Winner: Aitana Bonmati
Second: Sam Kerr
Third: Millie Bright.
FIFA Best:
Cornelius:
Winner: Aitana Bonmati
Second: Salma Paralluelo
Third: Millie Bright
Debanke
Winner: Aitana Bonmati
Second: Sam Kerr
Third: Hinata Miyazawa
Faith:
Winner: Aitana Bonmati
Second: Sam Kerr
Third: Salma Paralluelo
Who are your top three from both shortlist?
Please comment below.
