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Germany’s Joachim Loew being adjudged as FIFA’s Coach of the Year surprised many. Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone seemed to have been the frontrunner, having led his underdog side to a victorious domestic league campaign and almost a Champions League trophy.
And now, Atletico Madrid star Arda Turan’s reaction to the announcement has raised several questions. Turan serves as the captain for his national side Turkey and was eligible to vote.
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According to the official list of the votes cast by captains of each nation released on FIFA’s official website, Turan had placed Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in the first place followed by Germany manager Joachim Low and then his own manager, Diego Simeone. But that wasn’t actually the case, according to Turan.
Taking to Twitter, the Turkish midfielder wrote, “Regarding the Ballon d’Or and the Coach of the Year award, I’ve had many questions and want to address them again,” as translated by Inside Spanish Football.
[Translation: “On the day where I was asked for my selections, I elected Diego Simeone as the best coach and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player, it was exactly so.”]
[Translation: “For me, Simeone is the best coach in the world and I would have been as happy as he would have been to win it.”]
[Translation: “I would like all the press and everyone throughout the world to know. I have explained it again, so as not to confuse anyone.]
This has come as a reinforcement of the doubts already swirling about the voting process; it made little sense why Turan would vote for Mourinho and Low ahead of his own manager; especially since the two have never worked together. Turan’s comments are sure to raise many eyebrows, just like every other year when stories of votes being changed get attention from the public.
Here is the list of votes by some of the more famous players, and it’s not really surprising to see that a majority of them have gone with managers of their club or nation or with whom they have worked before.
| Country | Captain | 1st Choice (5 Pts.) | 2nd Choice (3 PTS) | 3rd Choice (1 Pt) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Lionel Messi | Alejandro Sabella | Pep Guardiola | Jose Mourinho |
| Australia | Mile Jedinak | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew | Carlo Ancelotti |
| Belgium | Vincent Kompany | Manuel Pellegrini | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew |
| Bosnia | Edin Dzeko | Joachim Loew | Carlo Ancelotti | Manuel Pellegrini |
| Brazil | Neymar | Joachim Loew | Pep Guardiola | Louis van Gaal |
| Chile | Claudio Bravo | Joachim Loew | Diego Simeone | Manuel Pellegrini |
| Colombia | Radamel Falcao | Diego Simeone | Alejandro Sabella | Louis van Gaal |
| Costa Rica | Bryan Ruiz | Diego Simeone | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew |
| Croatia | Darijo Srna | Carlo Ancelotti | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew |
| Denmark | Daniel Agger | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew | Joachim Loew |
| England | Wayne Rooney | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew | Diego Simeone |
| France | Hugo Lloris | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew | Diego Simeone |
| Germany | Bastian Schweinsteiger | Joachim Loew | Pep Guardiola | Louis van Gaal |
| Ghana | Asamoah Gyan | Carlo Ancelotti | Pep Guardiola | Jose Mourinho |
| India | Sunil Chhetri | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew | Pep Guardiola |
| Italy | Gianluigi Buffon | Joachim Loew | Antonio Conte | Carlo Ancelotti |
| Japan | Keisuke Honda | Joachim Loew | Carlo Ancelotti | Pep Guardiola |
| Mexico | Andres Guardado | Diego Simeone | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew |
| Netherlands | Robin van Persie | Carlo Ancelotti | Diego Simeone | Pep Guardiola |
| Nigeria | Vincent Enyeama | Carlo Ancelotti | Pep Guardiola | Joachim Loew |
| Paraguay | Roque Santa Cruz | Diego Simeone | Carlo Ancelotti | Jose Mourinho |
| Poland | Robert Lewandowski | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew | Pep Guardiola |
| Portugal | Cristiano Ronaldo | Carlo Ancelotti | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew |
| Republic of Ireland | Robbie Keane | Carlo Ancelotti | Diego Simeone | Juergen Klinsmann |
| Serbia | Brainslav Ivanovic | Jose Mourinho | Carlo Ancelotti | Diego Simeone |
| Scotland | Brown Scott | Joachim Loew | Pep Guardiola | Diego Simeone |
| Slovakia | Martin Skrtel | Diego Simeone | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew |
| Spain | Iker Casillas | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew | Manuel Pellegrini |
| Sweden | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew | Diego Simeone |
| Switzerland | Gokhan Inler | Pep Guardiola | Joachim Loew | Carlo Ancelotti |
| Turkey | Arda Turan | Jose Mourinho | Joachim Loew | Diego Simeone |
| Uruguay | Diego Godin | Diego Simeone | Joachim Loew | Louis van Gaal |
| USA | Clint Dempsey | Joachim Loew | Carlo Ancelotti | Diego Simeone |
| Wales | Ashley Williams | Carlo Ancelotti | Joachim Loew | Pep Guardiola |
Note: Despite the Twitter account not being verified, it is followed by the club, many of the players and UEFA’s official account. Looks like this is definitely Turan’s Twitter account.
