4 legends who deserved to win the Ballon d’Or

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In terms of individual honours, there’s no bigger prize in football than the Ballon d’Or. First awarded by France Football back in 1956, it was initially for European players only, but in 1995 it was expanded to include all players at European clubs, and the list of winners reads like a who’s who of football history.

Names like Charlton, Beckenbauer, Baggio, Matthaus and Zidane have won the award, while modern-day legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won it five times each. Not all football legends have won the Ballon d’Or, though – even though they maybe should’ve done.

Here are 5 legends of the game who deserved to win the Ballon d’Or:

#1 Andres Iniesta

Spanish legend Andres Iniesta – who recently departed Barcelona after spending his whole career at the Nou Camp – has won it all over the course of the last 15 years or so. He’s won the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, nine La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and six Copa del Reys with Barcelona, and he’s been awarded countless individual awards.

Somehow though, he’s never won the Ballon d’Or. The reason, unfortunately for Iniesta, is pretty clear; during his peak years of 2008 onwards, the world game has been thoroughly dominated by his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi and his heated rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Since 2008 no other player has won the Ballon d’Or.

But is this really fair to a player the calibre of Iniesta? A man who scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final after starring during the game – he was named Man of the Match – as well as the preceding games in the tournament? 2010’s Ballon d’Or went to Messi, but he didn’t perform nearly as well in South Africa and both men won La Liga with Barca in 2009/10.

Iniesta, as a matter of fact, came second in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2010 – gaining 17.36% of the votes compared to Messi’s 22.65% – but in reality, the Spanish midfielder probably should’ve won 

#2 Steven Gerrard

It was a bit of an unwritten rule – pre-Ronaldo and Messi of course – that in even-numbered years, the Ballon d’Or would usually go to the outstanding player at that year’s big international tournament (the World Cup or European Championships) while in odd-numbered years, it’d usually go to an outstanding player from that year’s Champions League tournament.

That’s why it’s so curious that Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard somehow didn’t win the Ballon d’Or in 2005. 2004/05 saw Gerrard have perhaps his finest season in a Liverpool shirt, and almost certainly his finest handful of moments.

The Reds surprised everyone that season by winning the Champions League, and it was captain Gerrard who drove them on, in particular, scoring a late goal in the group stage against Olympiakos to ensure Liverpool’s advancement into the knockout round.

Then of course, in the final, he inspired Liverpool to come back from 3 goals down against hot favourites AC Milan to draw 3-3, eventually winning the trophy in a penalty shoot-out. Gerrard scored one goal and won a penalty for another.

Quite how Ronaldinho – who won the Confederations Cup and La Liga that season – beat out Gerrard for the award I’m not sure. Granted, the Brazilian was arguably the world’s best player at that stage, but for his Champions League heroics it was definitely Gerrard who should’ve won the Ballon d’Or.

#3 Xavi

Barcelona’s midfield pass-master for well over a decade, Xavi is in the same boat as his famous partner in crime Andres Iniesta in that he’s one of the most decorated players in football history when it comes to both individual and team trophies, and yet he never quite managed to capture the Ballon d’Or.

Obviously, this is largely for the same reasons as Iniesta – except you could argue that Xavi was also in the shadow of his slightly more illustrious Spanish teammate as well as the giant shadows of Messi and Ronaldo. But despite performing a less flashy role in the side, perhaps no player was more important to Spain’s successes in 2008, 2010 and 2012 than Xavi.

He was named Player of the Tournament in Euro 2008 after dominating the midfield – scoring in the semi-final match with Russia – and his stats for the World Cup in 2010 (599 successful passes, a passing success rate of 91%) are simply insane to look at in hindsight. He also made 127 successful passes in the Euro 2012 final against Italy, breaking a tournament record in the process.

In the pre-Messi and Ronaldo era, plenty of less flashy players managed to win the Ballon d’Or – Fabio Cannavaro and Matthias Sammer, for instance – so the fact that Xavi never claimed the famous award is a travesty.

#4 David Beckham

With the power of hindsight, many observers would try to claim that David Beckham was more flash than substance, had plenty of weaknesses as a player and only rose to his massive fame due to his good looks, charisma, and his celebrity status. But that’d be totally unfair to a tremendous, world-class player at his peak – a man who arguably should’ve won the Ballon d’Or at some point in his career.

Beckham did manage to come second in the voting in 1999 behind Rivaldo; that was of course following the season in which he played a pivotal role in Manchester United’s famous treble victory (winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League) but his best year was arguably 2001, the year that his England teammate Michael Owen claimed the Ballon d’Or after winning the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup with Liverpool.

Beckham on the other hand claimed the Premier League title in 2000/01 with Manchester United – scoring 9 goals and delivering 12 assists in the process – and almost single-handedly took England to the 2002 World Cup with his famous performance in a qualifier against Greece, scoring that last-minute free-kick to ensure qualification.

He also scored 5 goals for England that year – a career-best return for him that also included a rocket strike against Finland and another free-kick classic against Mexico.

Owen might’ve won more trophies that season but due to his incredible performances for his country, it was probably Beckham who deserved to win the Ballon d’Or.