Linda Caicedo filled the country with pride this Wednesday, after France Football magazine revealed that she is one of the 30 players shortlisted to win the Ballon d’Or 2023.
(It may be of interest to you: Linda Caicedo, ‘careful with your tongue’: the joke for the Ballon d’Or nomination).
Her great performances with the women’s Colombian National Team jersey and with Real Madrid allowed her to be among the candidates to win the most coveted award in soccer on an individual level.
Linda became the first Colombian player to be on this exclusive list where the best soccer players on the planet are. However, it is not the first time that the country has one of its referents within the shortlist delivered by the French magazine.
Radamel Falcao García, the closest to the Ballon d’Or
The ‘Tiger’ from Santa Marta positioned himself as one of the most lethal players in the area in European football, while defending the colors of Porto and Atlético de Madrid. Falcao dazzled the football world with his goals in 2012 and entered the shortlist to win the Ballon d’Or.
Radamel achieved fifth place in that edition and was behind Lionel Messi (winner of that year’s Ballon d’Or), Cristiano Ronaldo, Iniesta and Xavi Hernández. In the 2013 edition, the striker for the Colombian National Team ranked eleventh on the Ballon d’Or list, after registering memorable numbers with Atlético de Madrid.
(Read here: Néstor Lorenzo: ‘This team has a lot to give, we are going to have a great tie’).
James Rodríguez and his two Ballon d’Or nominations
Another of the Colombians who was part of the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or was James Rodríguez, who after shining in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with the Colombian national team, stole all the spotlights. In that year, the left-handed man was among those eligible to win the individual prize and finished in the sixth box.
(Also: Ballon d’Or: without Cristiano Ronaldo and with Messi, this is the preselection for the award).
Despite missing out on the award, James won Fifa’s Puskas Award for his goal against Uruguay in the World Cup round of 16. In 2015, the man from Cucuta was once again on the shortlist due to his good season at Real Madrid, but ended up in 19th place on the ladder.
Luis Díaz and his nomination in 2022
After shining with the Porto and Liverpool jerseys in Europe, the Colombian Luis Díaz was included by France Football magazine in the shortlist of players to win the Ballon d’Or that year.
The peasant became the third Colombian to be in the select Top-20 of the Ballon d’Or and finished in box 17, beating world-class players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.
HAROLD YEPES
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