5 Players who ‘surprisingly’ failed to make Ballon d’Or 2010 shortlist
Deciding upon the Top 23 Players from previous year is a tough task and in particular during a World Cup year. The matter is still under debate as to how much a player’s performance during the World Cup affects his standing for the prestigious award.
Is performing brilliantly throughout the year less important to playing brilliantly over a couple of matches at the World’s biggest stage? Much has been made of the lack of English players in the list and their dismal World Cup showing was cited as the root
cause for a complete snub.
However, selectors still found room for Ronaldo and Dani Alves, both of whom had pretty ordinary World Cup. On the contrary, Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan and German Miroslav Klose made the short list on the back of a few emphatic or rather energetic displays in
South Africa. Both of them had shocking domestic campaigns.
Bettor.com will look at 5 players who had decent domestic campaigns as well as the World Cup and deserved to make the list ahead of some of the players who actually made it:
5. Wayne Rooney
The best way to compare is to say that he probably had a better domestic season than Cristiano Ronaldo and it was easily his best season in a Manchester United shirt. Rooney banged in 36 goals last season.
Yes, he had a shocking World Cup and that was probably big enough a reason for the selectors to ignore him. He might not have been a contender to win the award but there are plenty of players in the list who had a lot worse season than Wayne Rooney.
If Rooney couldn’t make it to the list this time around, it will be hard to see him making it in the future.
4. Ashley Cole
One of the few English players to return home from South Africa with some credibility, Ashley Cole is certainly one of the best left backs on the planet, if not the best.
He has been a model of consistency for so many years now. He is as solid as you like in defence and has now added an attacking dimension to his game. In 2010, Cole was an integral part of the Chelsea side that went on to win the league.
If there is an English player who deserves to make it to the short list on the basis outlined by the selectors, Cole should have been one of the first names to be selected.
3. Mark van Bommel
He was second best twice in 2 months time. His Bayern Munich lost to Inter in the Champions League final and then he lost to Spain with the Dutch National side. A player who has played at the highest level and in two of the major finals must be good enough
to make the list.
However, the only reason why he failed to make the list could be his old fashioned aggressive style of play. Is that effective? h**l yeah. He might overdo it a little bit but no one can doubt his passion for the game and desire to win them.
He is best remembered for his ill timed challenges during the World Cup and had it not been for them, he surely was a contender to make the list.
2. Gerard Pique
It was expected that plenty of Barcelona and Spanish players would make the list, but that would still not include Gerard Pique was a thought which never came across anyone’s mind. If there was a season when a centre back was more pivotal to the Barcelona
and Spanish teams it was 2010 and Carlos Puyol was the man.
Some of the Barcelona players on the list would agree that Pique probably deserved to be included in the list ahead of them.
1. Diego Milito
Perhaps the biggest shock of it all, Diego Milito. He scored more important goals in one season than some of the players had scored in their entire careers. He along with Wesley Sneijder was the star of the Inter team.
One would imagine that if a player scores two goals in the Champions League final, the winner in the Italian Cup and the goal which ensures that Inter win Seria A for a record 5th consecutive time, he has to be a favourite to win the title.
He didn’t have a bad World Cup simply because he wasn’t given the chance. He was a must in the list. It’s a real shame that he missed out.
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