FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 Award Ceremony Tonight: Waiting for a surprise from Neuer

When the shortlist for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or was announced, Manuel Neuer was the least likely to make a splash at the awards ceremony on January 12. But now things are different…

FIFA is ready for Manuel Neuer to be honored

According to the bookmakers, Neuer has far surpassed Messi in the chance of winning the Golden Ball. He is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo, but the German goalkeeper's chance of creating a big surprise at the Gala night in Zurich is not small.

Candidate number two

Why did Neuer, who was only the third candidate, become the second candidate for the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 (even though the vote has long since ended)? Specifically, the odds that bookmakers are offering if you bet on Messi winning the Golden Ball for the 5th time in his career are up to 1 to 33. Meanwhile, the corresponding odds for the German goalkeeper are much lower, only 1 to 4.

The reason for this is that recently, many famous figures in the world of football have spoken out in support of Neuer winning the Golden Ball, instead of Messi or Ronaldo. First of all, Michel Platini, the President of UEFA, said that he did not want to see Messi or Ronaldo win the Golden Ball again. Platini also affirmed that it would be fairer if the Golden Ball was awarded to a world champion. The consequence of this statement was that Platini was recently kicked 61 balls into his home by a group of Ronaldo's crazy fans (corresponding to the 61 goals that Ronaldo scored in 2014).

But Platini is not the only one who holds a biased opinion towards Neuer. Most recently, the legendary Maradona, during a visit to Cuba, declared: “Not Messi or Ronaldo, my choice is Neuer. He is the most deserving one”. Similarly, former player Del Piero, in an interview with FIFA, also stated: “If I had to predict, my answer would be Neuer”. In addition, a series of other football legends such as Franz Beckenbauer, Andrei Schevchenko and Otmar Hitzfeld also affirmed that Neuer deserved to win the Golden Ball.

Especially because of the revolution in the goalkeeper position

There are those who value the World Cup that Germany won in Brazil, in which Neuer was the decisive factor in the success. Typical examples are Platini, Schevchenko or Del Piero. Meanwhile, from the perspective of a tactician, Otmar Hitzfeld values ​​his compatriot in the role of creating a completely new position on the field: goalkeeper and sweeper.

Before Neuer did it at the 2014 World Cup, no one thought a goalkeeper could play football in such a way: actively leaving the penalty area to "attack" the opponent's strikers, instead of just standing in the goal waiting to block shots. It was this revolution in a position that was still considered 50% of the team's strength, along with an incredible personal record (successfully blocking up to 91% of the opponent's shots) that made Neuer, in the eyes of experts, more special than Ronaldo and Messi.

According to the Telegraph, there seems to be a media campaign to help Neuer win the Ballon d'Or this year. Of course, this is unrealistic. Because the opinions of the above-mentioned icons were all given when the voting was completely closed. That means the opinions of Maradona, Platini or Beckenbauer... cannot affect the final result. However, through the assessments of the legends for Manuel Neuer, it can be seen that the number of people supporting the German goalkeeper is not small.

In addition, many people are probably fed up with the Ballon d'Or becoming a private game between Ronaldo and Messi (who have won this title since 2008). And a new face, someone who plays in a position that has never won the Ballon d'Or like Neuer will be a savior. So don't be surprised if Neuer is the winner tonight!

According to TTVH