Richard MichaelLag-time gives Ronaldo edge in race for the Ballon d'Or
Cristiano Ronaldo appears set to be crowned European Footballer of the Year and thus win the coveted 2008 Ballon d’Or. He will follow in the footsteps of such greats as 2007 winner Kaka, Zinedine Zidane, Brazil’s Ronaldo, Marco Van Basten, and the first winner Sir Stanley Mathews.
Ronaldo has some worthy opponents. Due to the sublime talents of Lionel Messi, Barcelona have been producing some of the best football in Europe at the beginning of the Spanish Primera Liga and, despite Argentina’s trials at senior international level, it was again Messi that led their Olympic team to gold in Beijing. There are also a number of Spanish players rehearsing their speeches just in case, foremost Fernando Torres, after they won the European Championships in the summer.
Were the objectives of the competition to route out the finest footballer currently performing in Europe, Ronaldo may come up short. The Portuguese winger has yet to fully hit his stride this season, despite the occasional virtuoso performance, after an injury and transfer speculation overshadowed the start of his season. Not only that but he failed to shine for Portugal in this summer’s European Championships.
But thankfully for Ronaldo it is a cumulative award taking into account the performances of European based players over the past year and - after defining roles in Manchester United’s Champions League and Premiership winning season - he is a worthy, if annoyingly self-satisfied, winner.
Ronaldo has some worthy opponents. Due to the sublime talents of Lionel Messi, Barcelona have been producing some of the best football in Europe at the beginning of the Spanish Primera Liga and, despite Argentina’s trials at senior international level, it was again Messi that led their Olympic team to gold in Beijing. There are also a number of Spanish players rehearsing their speeches just in case, foremost Fernando Torres, after they won the European Championships in the summer.
Were the objectives of the competition to route out the finest footballer currently performing in Europe, Ronaldo may come up short. The Portuguese winger has yet to fully hit his stride this season, despite the occasional virtuoso performance, after an injury and transfer speculation overshadowed the start of his season. Not only that but he failed to shine for Portugal in this summer’s European Championships.
But thankfully for Ronaldo it is a cumulative award taking into account the performances of European based players over the past year and - after defining roles in Manchester United’s Champions League and Premiership winning season - he is a worthy, if annoyingly self-satisfied, winner.
