5 of the biggest Ballon d'Or upsets in recent years

The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award football has to offer. Many great players have won it over the years. However, there have also been cases when the most deserving player was denied the honour. Sometimes, a team plays magnificently and yet lose because of some last minute deflected goal. Similarly, when it comes to awards, less deserving people win them every now and then and it is no different here.Here are five such cases when the eventual runners-up were initial favourites to take hom the prize.

#1 2006: Ronaldinho

There are some players in this world who are loved even by the fans of their fiercest rival. One such player was Ronaldinho. He remains, one of few opposing players to get a standing ovation at the Bernabeu. And it happened in his best season as a Barcelona player – the 2005/06 season.

Ronaldinho made us dream. He made us believe that football is one of the easiest sports there is. When the ball was at his feet, he weaved magic with it. As if it was an extension of his leg, as if his brain commanded it to move around according to his wish.

2006 was his best year as a footballer. After winning the Champions League and La Liga with Barcelona, he went on to score 14 goals in the first 20 games of the 2006/07 season, making 2006 his landmark year. Even though he had an average World Cup with Brazil, he was quite arguably the best player all year.

In the end, Fabio Cannavaro won the trophy after an astute World Cup. What is intriguing is the fact that the World Cup lasts just a month, spanning 7 games for a team that makes the final, while Ronaldinho performed much better in the remaining 50 odd games that year.

It seem as though having a good World Cup is all that is needed to win the Ballon d’Or unless you are...

#2 2010: Wesley Sneijder

You win a treble with your club. Then, you assist your mediocre team to the final of the World Cup, only to be marginally beaten by the great Spanish team. But, yet, you don’t make it to even the top 3 in the Ballon d’Or list.

This is the sad story of Wesley Sneijder.

The Dutchman was the best player for both Inter Milan and the Netherlands that year. He was majestic; piercing defence with splitting passes for Diego Milito to pounce on apart from scoring some spectacular goals himself.

However, his name is not Lionel Messi and hence he couldn’t grab the prestigious award that ultimately went to the Argentine, who had a great season with the club, but a World Cup to forget with Argentina. One might argue that his numbers were better than the former Real Madrid player. However, they eventually accounted for almost nothing when compared to Sneijder’s accomplishments as Barca just won La Liga that year.

#3 2002: Roberto Carlos

Philipp Lahm recently said that the Ballon d’Or is a popularity contest for strikers. And he isn’t entirely wrong. Despite the emergence of some great midfielders and defenders, the last time the coveted trophy was won by a defender was in 2006 when Fabio Cannavaro nicked it.

However, another ‘defender’ was supposed to be on the list: Roberto Carlos. The Brazilian was known for his attacking skills more than his ability to hold ground against a surging winger from the opposition. And it is those skills that made him the greatest attacking full-back of all time.

In every game, his influence was so bright that Brazil and Real Madrid’s attack looked like a bird without one of its wings in his absence. And it is this influence that made him an integral part of a Brazil side that won the World Cup in 2002 and two Copa Americas in 1997 and 1999 as well as fou Ligas and three Champions League titles with Real Madrid.

His standout year, however, was in 2002. He won three trophies with Real Madrid, including the Champions League, and the World Cup with Brazil. Yet, his compatriot Ronaldo Nazario won the award that year for an outstanding World Cup campaign.

Ronaldo was brilliant, no doubt, but what remains undeniable is his injury record that year. He was out injured for most part and Carlos was more consistent over the span of the year, which makes his snub a bit painful.

#4 2004: Thierry Henry

This might be a controversial call, but the whole thing is controversial anyway. While there is no denying that Andriy Shevchenko, who won the award that year, deserved it, what can’t be argued is Henry deserved it too. And slightly more than the Ukranian.

The Frenchmen had a stellar 2003/04 season, scoring 39 times in the process. In fact, he scored 10 more goals than the legendary Milan forward in that year.

The only thing that goes against Henry is Milan’s extended run in the Champions League compared to Arsenal. However, Arsenal managed to get hold of the Premier League and that too without losing a single game, which makes the overlooking of Henry even more absurd.

At that point of time, the legendary strikers of bygone days were at the peak of their powers. It was a thing of beauty to watch them fire on all cylinders. However, Henry’s car performed slightly better on full throttle than that of Shevchenko’s.

#5 2001: Raul

The biggest farce in the history of Ballon d’Or was in 2001 when Michael Owen won it ahead of Raul. The Spaniard was, by far, the greatest player in the world at that point of time and was carrying Real Madrid’s attack to glory after glory with his stellar performances.

He may not have won the Champions League that year, winning it the previous year and the year after, but neither did Michael Owen. He, however, had an edge over the Englishman: he helped his team win La Liga, something which Owen couldn’t aspire to do so with Liverpool in the Premier League.

Owen might have been one of those players whose immense potential fell prey to the fangs of injuries. He may have been one of the best forwards in the world at the peak of his abilities. However, he never came close to Raul.

Some claim that Owen’s nationality, and he fact that no Englishmen had won it since Kevin Keegan in 1979, had a lot to do with his acquisition of the trophy. And it might just be true for it is as clear as Melanie Laurent’s beautiful eyes that Raul deserved the trophy more than anyone else that year.