5 reasons why Gianluigi Buffon should win the Ballon d'Or?

The Ballon d’Or is almost here and fans are getting ready to witness the biggest individual award ceremony in football. And the expectation is that one of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would win it, but sometimes miracles do happen. And if it does, then the Juventus goalkeeper should be the one to win it.

The Italian maestro is to goalkeeping what Pablo Picasso was to art and here are 5 reasons why he should win the best personal accolade football has to offer over the duo of the Argentina and Portugal captains, respectively.

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#5 It's about time a goalkeeper won it again

Goalkeepers aren’t seen the same way as outfield players. In other words, they aren’t considered as footballers. This might sound weird, but it is true to a certain extent.

The fact that only one goalkeeper in the history of the game has won this award speaks volumes about the way they are looked upon. It is not that the world has had a dearth of legendary figures in front of the goal wearing gloves.

The likes of Gordon Banks, Bert Trautmann, and Vladimir Beara were some of the finest shot stoppers in the history of the game. But they were never really considered for the prestigious honour. The only one to win this award was the Russian 'Black Spider' Lev Yashin.

Yashin was a God among the mere mortals and perhaps the greatest goalkeeper of all time. But if one looks at our era, then there is no one better than Buffon.

#4 Buffon is the best goalkeeper of our time

The most consistent footballer there is

Goalkeeping is perhaps the most difficult thing to do on a football pitch. While the outfield players are always on the move, always on the run, goalkeepers have to stand still for most of the game, but have to display an optimum level of awareness and athleticism when called to action.

Apart from that, the goalkeeper is always supposed to be brave since, in most cases, the forwards are likely to shoot at them with full power – something that is pretty intimidating for someone at the end of it.

Keeping all of this in mind, it is safe to say that the job of a goalkeeper is not your usual bread and butter. And Buffon is king. The number of times he saved his club and country from losing games is countless to say the least.

#3 Buffon deserves recognition before he retires

This is possibly Buffon's final year

The way Buffon has been guarding the goal for Italy and Juventus for over a span of almost two decades, it would be legit to claim that the Italian is the best goalkeeper of our time.

Buffon’s longevity is what puts him apart from the rest. While the likes of Iker Casillas were perhaps better than him at their peaks, Buffon has been much more consistent and is still going strong despite approaching the age of 40.

The fact that he has played in two different Champions League finals in the last 3 years for Juventus shows his abilities at the very top level. To him, inconsistency is a myth – a word that doesn’t exist in his dictionary.

As mentioned earlier, the Italian goalkeeper has been one of the best players of our time and it is about time that he wins something individually meaningful. Since the Ballon d’Or is considered the most prestigious individual honour, it about time that he won it.

#2 Getting rid of the forward and midfielder bias

Neymar, Messi, and Ronaldo - perennial top three candidates

I think we all know where this is heading towards, isn’t it? There is this scooty ad where Indian actress and former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra, asks, “why should boys have all the fun?” I have a similar question when it comes to the Ballon d’Or: why should forwards win this award all the time?

Indeed, in the history of this award, only four times has it happened that the award wasn’t won by a forward or a midfielder. The first time it happened was with Lev Yashin. After him, it was the Kaizer, Franz Beckenbauer, who was followed by Matthias Sammer and then Fabio Cannavaro.

So, you see, it’s been a while. In the long history of the Ballon d’Or, if only four players from the defensive side of the game won the award, then it is clear as the sky that the award is biased towards the more flashy players – the ones that wow the world with their flamboyance.

Since football is a team sport, every player on the pitch should be treated with equal respect, but the selection criteria of the Ballon d’Or makes that impossible.

It is time for the defensive players to be recognised.

#1 Someone other than Ronaldo or Messi should win it

FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2014

If life is banal and prosaic, it is not living – it is just surviving. While Messi and Ronaldo are dangerously good, there were certain years when they weren’t the best in the world – and yet they won the award. This actually shows how dangerous a habit it can be.

And now, this year, there is a good argument against the two winning it. For instance, Messi hasn’t won enough worthy accolades with his team while the Ronaldo's second half of the calendar year has been atrocious.

Buffon, meanwhile, won Serie A and reached the final of the Champions League while also being a rock-solid presence in front of Juve’s goal to help them close the gap with Napoli to one point this season.

Overall, if one looks at the whole calendar, there is actually a good case for Buffon winning it.