Why Franck Ribery should win the Ballon d'Or this year

Franck Ribery: does he deserve the FIFA Ballon d’Or?

The 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony is coming closer, and the debate about who should win the trophy is already raging. Should the trophy be handed over to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a scintilating season even by his standards? Should four-time winner Lionel Messi be given the award for a fifth time running after yet another outstanding campaign that saw Barcelona win La Liga? Or should it go to Franck Ribery, the best player in an outstanding Treble-winning Bayern Munich side?

Here are four reasons why the French winger deserves to be given the prestigious award ahead of Ronaldo and Messi:

Key part of a rampant Bayern team – Bayern Munich were simply unstoppable during the 2012-13 season. They worked hard as a team and played a brand of football that was both effective and extremely easy on the eye. There wasn’t a single Bayern player who was poor last season, so it says a lot that Ribery managed to shine in a team that did well as a unit and that isn’t built around him. Ronaldo and Messi were excellent last season, yet Real and Barca play to their individual strengths. Ribery, on the other hand, played to his team’s strengths as well as his own and was outstanding.

Has been replicating club form for his country – One of the biggest criticisms of Ribery is that he’s rarely been able to replicate his club form for his country. It’s a criticism that even Messi and Ronaldo face. However, Ribery has been playing well for both club and country of late. The winger is now a key player for France too. He was their best player over the past year or so and to be on top of your game for both club and country at the same time is nothing short of amazing.

Overall contribution to the play is top-notch – In terms of goals, Ribery isn’t the most prolific. He only scored 10 goals last season, a stat that pales in comparison to the goal tallies of Ronaldo and Messi. However, he clocked more assists than the two and also completed more key passes than the two of them. Defensively and offensively he contributes more to the overall play; he can be seen snapping at opposition players’ feet when not in possession and he starts many of Bayern’s attacking moves. He may not score many goals, but no one can doubt his dedication to the cause.

Award shouldn’t be based purely on end-play – Football isn’t all about end-play. There is a lot that goes on in the build-up and ignoring it would be disrespectful to players who don’t regularly get on the scoresheet or notch up assists. Ribery may not be prolific in front of goal but he provides plenty of key passes and does a lot of dirty work that neither Messi nor Ronaldo do. Similarly, the award should go to the player who scored the most goals or provided the most assists; it should go to the player who performed the best in all aspects of the game. Using that criteria, Ribery wins hand down.