The FIFA Weekly Ballon d’Or 2013 EN by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

Who is the best player of our time? And who is the greatest player in history? No matter who you choose you’ll never satisfy everyone. But for the year 2013 we have a definitive answer. The experts of the global game, the head coaches and captains of the 209 national associations and selected football writers, have chosen a worthy winner. Cristiano Ronaldo, who gave us the year’s outstanding individual highlights, deservedly takes home the FIFA Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo is one of the greats, off the field as well as on it. He has always graced the Gala with his presence in recent years, full in the knowledge he was likely to be edged out by Lionel Messi for the Ballon d’Or. By continuing to attend he showed respect to his rivals and the entire footballing community, and I salute him for it. As we all know, true greatness comes to the fore only in moments of defeat. The fact that Ronaldo is being awarded the Ballon d’Or for the second time today after a five-year wait is also an indirect tribute to Portuguese footballing culture and another exceptional exponent of our sport, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, known to everyone as Eusebio. The Mozambique-born Portuguese forward was one of the leading players of the 1960s. He spearheaded Benfica’s two European Cup triumphs and won the Golden Boot at the 1966 World Cup. He is inextricably linked with an era in which some of the true legends of our sport crossed paths: Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Eusebio. Like Di Stefano and Puskas, Eusebio never won the World Cup, but his brilliant technique, utter determination and ruthless finishing set new standards for our sport. He passed away eight days ago. One of the many awards won by the Black Panther was the Ballon d’Or in 1965. The example of Eusebio neatly illustrates the impact one player can have in a team sport. It is important to recognise individual achievements as well as team success; after all, Eusebio was the dominant player at the 1966 World Cup, but Portugal lost to England in the semi-finals. That result did nothing to diminish the Portuguese star’s outstanding performances. We will always remember Eusebio as a champion, both as a footballer and as a person. Å

Inhalt: Mike Hewitt

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (GER/Bayern Munich) Defence: Philipp Lahm (GER/Bayern), Dani Alves (BRA/Barcelona), Thiago Silva (BRA/Paris Saint-Germain), Sergio Ramos (ESP/Real Madrid) Midfield: Xavi (ESP/Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (ESP/Barcelona), Franck Ribery (FRA/Bayern) Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (POR/Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (ARG/Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE/Paris Saint-Germain) The FIFA Weekly. Published weekly by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Internet: www.FIFA.com/TheWeekly; Publisher: FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, PO Box, CH8044 Zurich, Tel. : +41-(0)43-222 7777 Fax : +41-(0)43-222 7878; President: Joseph S. Blatter; Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke; Director of Communications and Public Affairs: Walter De Gregorio; Chief editor: Thomas Renggli; Art director: Markus Nowak; Staff writers: Perikles Monioudis (deputy editor), Alan Schweingruber, Sarah Steiner; Contributors: Jordi Punti, Barcelona; David Winner, London; Hanspeter Kuenzler, London; Roland Zorn, Frankfurt/M.; Sven Goldmann, Berlin; Sergio Xavier Filho, Sao Paulo; Luigi Garlando, Milan; Picture editor: Peggy Knotz; Production: Hans-Peter Frei (head of section), Richie Kronert, Marianne Bolliger-Crittin, Mirijam Ziegler, Peter Utz; Proof reader: Nena Morf; Translation: Sportstranslations.com; Contact: feedback-TheWeekly@fifa.org; Reproduction of photos or articles in whole or in part is only permitted with prior editorial approval and if attributed “© The FIFA Weekly, 2014”. The FIFA logo is a registered trademark. Made and printed in Switzerland.

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

Cover: Getty Images

Coach of the Year Jupp Heynckes (GER)

WO R L D P L AY E R O F T H E Y E A R

CRISTIANO RONALDO

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Thomas Renggli No-one shoots straighter or scores with such regularity. And in 2013 there was no better player than Cristiano Ronaldo. He is gifted on the ball, a model athlete, and his own greatest fan. On Monday evening in Zurich Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d’Or for the second time, adding to his maiden triumph in 2008. He was the runner-up behind Lionel Messi in the last two years but has defined the gold standard in 2013. He finished as top scorer for Real Madrid in the Champions League and La Liga, and was the outstanding individual for Portugal as they sealed their berth at Brazil 2014. The crowning glory of the 28-year-old’s year was his masterclass in the World Cup qualifying play-off double-header against Sweden: he scored all Portugal’s goals in the 4-2 aggregate victory, single-handedly dumping the Scandinavians out of the contest. Even Sweden star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, himself hardly a model of self-effacing humility, openly applauded Ronaldo out on the pitch at the Friedens Arena in Solna, a reaction seemingly prompted by bewilderment, admiration and powerlessness in equal measure.

Ronaldo comes, scores and conquers. Unfairly classified a one-trick, free-kick and long-range-shooting specialist to begin with, this flawed analysis has been consigned to the trash can. Ronaldo scores his goals in every way imaginable; with his right foot, with his left, after solo runs and slick passing moves, but also as a proverbial fox in the box who gets in where it hurts. When he put away a marvellous diving header in the first leg against the Swedes you can be sure he wasn’t preoccupied with his haircut. Ronaldo’s idol was Eusebio, the Portuguese great who died eight days ago. The legend himself said of his inheritor: “He has magic in his feet. He’s unbelievably quick and strong. He has magnificent skill and an exceptional first touch. He knows he can do anything he wants with the ball and that makes him a very special player.” Wales veteran Ryan Giggs became an admirer during Ronaldo’s spell with Manchester United between 2003 and 2009: “When Cristiano Ronaldo gets the ball, you can just leave him to it while he beats player after player.” Ronaldo is the ultimate exponent of an art becoming more and more difficult in the modern game, the scoring of goals. Nowadays T H E F I FA W E E K LY

the striker is often a lone warrior against superbly disciplined, perfectly drilled and athletic back lines. But Ronaldo can pierce the toughest defensive shield. On the Real Madrid roll of honour he only has legendary trio Carlos Santillana, Alfredo Di Stefano and Raul Gonzalez in front of him. ’CR7’ is the most reliable seal of quality in the game today, and the one that polarises opinion the most. “People are jealous of me because I look good, I’m rich and I’m a terrific footballer,” he once said. Cristiano Ronaldo, people say, is vain and extravagant, but also glamorous and stylish (he has his own fashion line). But nothing can change the one fact that matters: he is a phenomenally good player, evidenced once again by his deserved triumph in the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013. Å

WO M E N ’S WO R L D P L AY E R O F T H E Y E A R

NADINE ANGERER

For the first time in the history of the Ballon d’Or a goalkeeper has been named best women’s player in the world. Throughout 2013 Nadine Angerer provided the kind of cast-iron solidity every coach wants, capable of salvaging victory from the most precarious situations thanks to her talent and passion. She is also a proactive captain whose priority is always the needs and desires of her team-mates. The choice of the 35-year-old ahead of previous Ballon d’Or winners Marta and Abby Wambach perfectly reflects these attributes. Angerer was elevated to the status of icon in Germany with two penalty saves in the Women’s Euro final against Norway as she almost single-handedly propelled her team to the continental championship. The keeper was later named Best Women’s Player in Europe. 4

Angerer’s personal medal collection is extensive and impressive: she was a World Cup winner in 2003 and 2007, European champion in 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013, German champion in 2004 and 2006, German Cup winner in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2011, and a UEFA Womens Cup winner in 2005. Curiously enough Nadine Angerer did not start out in goal, as she played up front for ASV Hofstetten. However, her talent between the sticks was uncovered when she stood in for the club’s injured regular goalkeeper. She went on to play for Nuremberg, Wacker Munchen and Bayern Munich, before winning her first honours at club level with Turbine Potsdam. She spent a season with Swedish top-flight outfit Djugarden in 2008 but returned to Germany and kept goal for FFC Frankfurt until June 2013. After bouncing back from a lengthy injury lay-off Angerer played the tournament of her life at the Euro in Sweden. She then opted for T H E F I FA W E E K LY

another spell abroad with Brisbane Roar in the Australian W-League. Her biggest remaining career goal is a stint in the North American NWSL, and that dream is set to become reality almost simultaneously with her triumph in the Ballon d’Or. “The madness continues! Unbelievable! I’m incredibly proud!” she said on learning she had been nominated for the global award, and even at 35 she aims to play for a long while yet. A new chapter has now opened in her career as she sets her sights on the next major target, the Women’s World Cup in 2015. By then Angerer will have represented her country for an extraordinary 19 years. Å

Moritz Schmid

Sarah Steiner

COACHES OF THE YEAR

SILVIA NEID

Alan Schweingruber

laci Perenyi, Kurth/nph

When the occasion demands it, Silvia Neid is capable of a withering and fierce scowl, especially when her team lacks the fighting spirit she demands and she is forced to watch helplessly from the touchlines as goals go in at the wrong end. The former butcher’s shop assistant is regarded as a perfectionist, an ambitious individual who

JUPP HEYNCKES

can neither accept nor understand how anyone can be satisfied with 95 per cent effort. But last July the 49-year-old was beaming, and with good reason. Roundly criticised in the wake of her team’s early exit from the World Cup two years earlier, Neid guided Germany to a 1-0 victory over Norway in the 2013 Women’s Euro final. The coach had successfully extracted the maximum from her young team, prompting her to declare: “This tourna-

Thomas Renggli Last season, Jupp Heynckes achieved what many players and coaches can only dream of, leading Bayern Munich to Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League glory before retiring at the peak of his powers. Heynckes is a German footballing legend and a man of many talents. As a player, he won the 1972 European Championship and 1974 World T H E F I FA W E E K LY

ment and the passion and character of these players make me feel ten years younger.” The emergence of a new generation has enabled Neid to celebrate her third major success as Germany head coach after triumphs at the World Cup in 2007 and the European Championship two years later. The former midfielder, who first took up the game at the age of five, has duly been named FIFA Women’s World Coach of the Year for the second time. Å

Cup, demonstrating the sort of firepower, speed and instinct that made him the best German striker of his era along with Gerd Muller. As a coach, he achieved his aims with a combination of perseverance, discipline and sheer hard work, and setbacks such as Bayern Munich’s 2012 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea simply spurred him on to work even harder. Even during his time at Real Madrid in 1998, when he knew the club would let him go at the end of the season, he continued to go about his work unperturbed and ended the season by winning his maiden Champions League trophy. Last May, he reached the summit of European football for the second time, leaving a perfectly functioning team for his successor, Pep Guardiola, and by doing so, contributed significantly to the Spaniard’s first two titles with Bayern. He once countered speculation about his future by drawing historical parallels: “When I see how Adenauer became German Chancellor at the age of 71, or how Pope Francis took office at 76, then at 68 I have the right to consider whether I can still do more,” he said, true to the saying that “there are no old and young coaches, only good and bad ones.” Å

PEOPLE

Glitz and Glamour

Ruud Gullit, Adriana Lima, Ronaldo and Neymar

Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano jr. and Irina Shayk

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva

PelĂŠ and Sepp Blatter

GĂźnter and Elvira Netzer

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

PEOPLE

Sepp Blatter and Cristiano Ronaldo

Franck Ribéry and Wahiba Belhami

Pilar Rubio and Sergio Ramos

Getty Images, freshfocus, Keystone, AFP

Jupp Heynckes and Roy Hodgson

Franz Beckenbauer

Marta

Antonella Roccuzzo and Lionel Messi

Zinédine Zidane

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

“Every week you have to play well to be the champion.” Ruud Gullit

u 1999 Ru

d Gullit

1956 Sir Stan

ley Mat thews

History The list of past winners of the FIFA Ballon d’Or is a who’s who of the best players in the game, with a distinctly European slant. Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten each won the trophy three times, but Lionel Messi of Argentina leads the way with four triumphs. Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo the list shows two other Portuguese winners: Luis Figo (2000) and Eusebio (1965). We present a selection of images drawn from the roll of honour down the years.

1971, 1 9

73, 197 4 Johan

Cruy ff

1968 George Bes t (with 8

the Ballon d’Or), Sir Bob

by Charlton to his right.

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“Beckenbauer is the hero of our nation. But it’s not happened by chance. He’s worked hard for it.” Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder

1972 , 1976 Fr

(congratu 1965 Eusebio

lated by his pr

edeces sor De

anz Beckenba

uer

nis Law)

“When I was a kid and played with my friends, I always chose to be Platini.” Zinedine Zidane

1983, 1984

1988, 1989, 1992 Marco van Basten

T H E F I FA W E E K LY

, 1985 Mic

hel Platini

THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL

W E E K LY T O P 11

“Ha! Ho! Heya heya hey!” Hanspeter Kuenzler “Only dead fish go with the flow” was the motto of German music producer Horst Nussbaum, known as Jack White. In 1973, it was with this saying in mind that White sought to turn the German national football team into a supergroup capable of storming up the charts. The “band” already had the hairstyles for the job, wearing their hair at the medium length fashionable at that time, and could almost have been mistaken for a 1960s British beat group on the record sleeve. The album also coincided with a wider trend for national football teams to try their hand at pop music. Ahead of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the England football team topped the UK singles chart for three weeks with “Back Home”, a song composed by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, who previously penned Eurovision hits “Puppet on a String” and “Congratulations”. Jack White’s own string of hits included songs such as “Schöne Maid” (“Pretty Maid”) and “So wie ein Regenbogen” (“Like a Rainbow”), in which he combined the pounding rhythms of traditional oompah music and a new, distinctly German style of pop music to create a pioneering sound. As a former professional footballer who played for clubs such as TSC Zweibrucken and PSV Eindhoven, White had no problems connecting with his choir in 1973, 10

but his skills as a vocal coach were sorely tested when Gerd Muller, Helmut Schon, Sepp Meier and their team-mates bellowed their way through “Blau blüht der Enzian” (“How Blue Blooms the Gentian”), “Frohsinn und Gemütlichkeit” (“Cheerfulness and Good Times”) and “Ich fang für euch den Sonnenschein” (“I’ll Catch the Sun For You”). The title track, “Fussball ist unser Leben” (“Football Is Our Life”) was even the official song for the 1974 World Cup in Germany. There is a clip on YouTube showing the team’s appearance on German TV show “ZDF Kultnacht” in which host Wim Toelke quips: “One of the most important pieces in modern secular choral music – football’s answer to the Schicksalslied” before Germany’s players launch into their refrain of “Ha! Ho! Heya heya hey!” Only Gerd Muller appears to have trouble remembering the words, while a worried-looking Paul Breitner – a fan of German rock band Amon Düül II – desperately tries not to think about what he is singing. Of course, “Fussball ist unser Leben” remains an evergreen classic in football stadiums across Germany to this day. Å

The Germany National Football Team, “Fussball Ist Unser Leben” (Polydor Records) T H E F I FA W E E K LY

“I’ve never tried to hide the fact that it is my intention to become the best.”

“Maybe they hate me because I’m too good.”

“Some fans keep booing and whistling at me because I’m handsome, rich and a great player. They envy me.”

“Your love makes me strong, your hate makes me unstoppable.”

“I would be very proud if, one day, I’m held in the same esteem as George Best or David Beckham. It’s what I’m working hard towards.”

“When I win awards, I think of my father.”

“My free-kick secret? I just look at the net and say ‘Take the kick, Cristiano.’ ”

“The number 7 shirt is an honor and a responsibility. I hope it brings me a lot of luck.”

“I am living a dream I never want to wake up from.”

“It gives me the happiest feeling in the world. I just love scoring and it doesn’t matter if it’s a simple goal from close range, a long shot or a dribble around several players, I just love to score all kind of goals.”

“I don’t understand referees. It appears like some players can’t even be touched, but in my case, everyone can hit me as hard as they can.”

Sion Ap Tomos

The best quotes by Cristiano Ronaldo

The taekwondo master PUSK A S AWARD

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been awarded the Ferenc Puskas Award for the best goal of the year. However, “Ibra” would never have thought to attempt this spectacular strike were it not for his taekwondo training.

Scanpix, offside

Perikles Monioudis

n 13 November 2012, the Swede created a masterpiece to give his national side a 4-2 lead against England in Stockholm. The eight-time Swedish Player of the Year scored a miraculous goal the like of which has never been seen before: rising into the air, he flung his outstretched right leg aloft in a kind of overhead kick to send the ball sailing through the night sky and beyond the goalkeeper to rest safely in the back of the England net.

Just how did Ibrahimovic learn to score like that? Klaus Fischer famously showed the world how to execute the perfect bicycle kick, propelling his legs through the air in a scissor movement, but Ibra decided against this particular method. Instead, the movement of his right leg was much more powerful, made possible by his extraordinary body control and a schooling in taekwondo. This Korean martial art has been an Olympic sport since Sydney 2000 and is the most footwork-focused of all the fighting arts. The Paris Saint-Germain striker holds a T H E F I FA W E E K LY

black belt in the discipline and laid the foundations for his masterly footwork skills at the Enighet (“Unity”) Taekwondo Club in Malmo as a boy. The Puskas Award winner gave further evidence of his taekwondo skills in his team’s 4-0 victory against Bastia on 19 October 2013, when he back-heeled the ball from behind his back and into the net. His crossover moves have not only earned him the Puskas Award but have also written a new chapter in footballing technique. Å

ASK FIFA!

Answered by Thomas Renggli, chief editor: Football’s greatest player is also the greatest ever goalscorer: Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more commonly known as Pele. He scored 1281 times in 1363 matches, equivalent to a scoring rate of 0.94 goals per game. He is also Brazil’s leading marksman with 77 strikes to his name. 541 of his goals were scored in top-flight matches, leading the all-time rankings ahead of Czech-Austrian forward Josef Bican, who found the net on 518 occasions, and Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, with a tally of 511 in his career.

THE PRIZE STRIKER

Strikers and

attacking midfielders who have won the Ballon d’Or to date, from a total of 58 recipients. Franz Beckenbauer (twice), Matthias Sammer and Fabio

Goalkeeper turned gamekeeper. Thun, Switzerland, 10 March 2013: The Swiss top-flight meeting between Thun and FC Zurich came to a halt for several minutes after a pine marten invaded the pitch. The encroachment only ended when FCZ keeper David Da Costa showed great reflexes to bring the marauding mammal under control. The incident ended well for all concerned: FCZ won 4-0 and the furry intruder was released back into the wild.

THE WORLD CHAMPIONS

Ballon d’Or winners also crowned world champions:

THE OVERLOOKED ICON

Cannavaro are the only

Bobby Charlton in 1966, Gerd

defenders to have been awarded

Muller and Franz Beckenbauer

the accolade, while Soviet

in 1974, Paolo Rossi in 1982,

Union goalkeeper Lev Yashin

Lothar Matthaus in 1990,

for the award for much of his career, and by the

(pictured) is the only goalkeeper

Zinedine Zidane in 1998,

time the award was opened up to non-European

on the roll of honour, underlining the

Rivaldo in 2002, Ronaldo in

players playing for a European club in 1995, Marado-

scale of Nadine Angerer’s historical

1994, Ronaldinho in 2002, Fabio

na was back playing in his home country. The vote

sporting achievement in scooping

Cannavaro (pictured) in 2006

was ultimately opened up to players across the

the women’s award this year.

and Kaka in 2002.

globe in 2007.

Number of times Diego Maradona received this prestigious trophy. The Argentinian was not eligible

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Christian Pfander/freshfocus, Getty Images, Imago

Which player scored the most goals during their career? Fritz Marti, Kiel

C AT CH OF T HE Y E AR