Haaland, Messi, Mbappé…? The winner of the prize will be announced this Monday. The Best, of the FIFA 2023. Late. It arrives two and a half months after the delivery. Golden Ball, which in addition to having the advantage of its name (a thousand times more impressive than The Best) hits first.
Gianni Infantino, for not renewing the contract with France Football, lost the use of the name and the distinction of Fifa It doesn't have the same relevance.
The election period is from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023. The strange, or unusual, thing is that the performance of the last four and a half months of 2023 is not taken into account and the distinction is granted well into 2024 .
Erling Haaland It is the first option. There should not be an atom of doubt. Triplet winner with Manchester City –League, Cup and Champions–, author of a haul of goals, all in his first year in English football. Theirs is an individual merit based on collective functioning.
Haaland I would never have been able to achieve such goals in the Salzburg or in the Borussia Dortmund. In it City He found the perfect habitat to display all his scoring voracity. A team of Guardiola that dominates 70 percent of the game in every game it plays and that generates hundreds of goal situations throughout a season. The Android was a phenomenon, although it is clear: the City he does not win for Haaland, but with Haaland.
He receives criticism for not performing in the same way in the final stages as at the beginning or in decisive crashes. All because he did not score goals in the definition of the English Cup and in the semi-final and final of Champions.
He also had no better luck in some classics in England. That can be said if it is repeated throughout his career. Nobody can seriously maintain that it shrinks in tough games.
Yes, the failure with his team is more remarkable, with which he was left out of the last world and of the Euro Cup which will take place in June in Germany. 24 enter the Euro Cup, a team that has a super star should qualify.
Also: Egan Bernal announced his racing calendar amid 'impressive party', video
They were eliminated in a group that was a chocolate ice cream: Spain, Scotland (both qualified), Georgia and Cyprus. He did not score goals against Spain, but one against Scotland, from a penalty. For him World Cup 2022 they were left out against Holland, Türkiye, Montenegro, Latvia and Gibraltar. He is indebted to Norway, but what he has done at City puts him above everyone in 2023.
Erling Haaland is Manchester City's top scorer in the Premier League.
Kylian Mbappé He is part of the final trio more because of his size as a footballer than because of what he has done during the eligibility period. During 2023 he scored a good number of goals, but he barely added one title: champion of the French league, which for the Paris Saint Germain It is almost an obligation. He is the one with the least chance of beating him.
He is already 25 years old and has nine seasons in the First Division, Kylian, You must hit the accelerator if you want to win any of these prizes. With what he does, it is not enough.
And Messi?
The other one who shares the podium is Lionel Messi. He is no longer counted World. For that conquest he obtained the The Best past year. In 2023, as Mbappé, won the French league and also added a Leagues Cup with Inter Miami. However, the most significant thing about him in 2023 was the revolution that he generated in American soccer and sports with his arrival in Miami. Neither Pele generated so much.
He “Messi effect” made the world look away towards the MLS. He went to raise the flag and dazzled the public, achieving box office, audience and marketing records. On the worst team in the tournament…! And there is his game, at a level of magic and excellence that no one can reach. The others are scorers like Haaland or powerful like Mbappé. And the prize for the best is not awarded only for goals.
In the period in which the The Best, Haaland scored 34 goals, Mbappe 27 and Messi 24, counting clubs and national teams. It's less difference than it seems.
Lionel Messi competes for the ball with Carlos Augusto, from Brazil, in the South American classic.
Haaland, Messi, Mbappé, the same shortlist as in the Golden Ball. In that case it was well earned by Messi because it included the World Cup. He The Best he world took it into account in the previous edition. There are no more names. Despite the valiant efforts of Madrid fans, that industry without holidays that always lives crushing with some merengue (in the first half it supported Vinicius, now Bellingham), there are no new stars who deserve to win a statuette of such significance.
Jamie Carragher, former very tough Liverpool defender turned commentator sky sports television, was consulted by Vinicius and also responded harshly: “What did he do this season? He made numbers for the real Madrid In a joke league… what did Madrid win? “He didn't even win LaLiga.” And he defended the 2023 Ballon d'Or won by Messi: “I chose him for the MLS, he scored incredible goals.”
Read here: Atlético Nacional sets its sights on an experienced former Cali goalkeeper: there is already an offer
The reality is that yes Messi takes a step aside in these awards, as it was already announced on October 30 in Paris, football is left without “a best in the world.” The mistake is often made of calling someone who has had a great season the “best player in the world.” However, that label is for those who have maintained it for a considerable period of time. Today there is no glimpse of any heir to Messi, no one is as complete in technique, genius, creation of attacking maneuvers, vision of the game, dribbling, goals, assists.
Messi takes the eighth Ballon d'Or to the showcases of his home.
“There is no formal succession in that of the best in the world. When he retired Pele That was vacant for a long time. There is no possible comparison between Messi and the rest. Messi has a goal, a dribble, imagination, fantasy, judgment, a goal pass, he can be a strategist. The rest have one or two of those things and nothing more,” says Ricardo Vasconcellos, editor of Sports of The Universeof Guayaquil.
The others can be “best of one season”, as happened with Belanov, Figo, Shevchenko, Nedved, Cannavaro, Rivaldo, Kaka, Lewandowski, so many. No one remembers many of them, others, like Lewandowski, He won it two years ago and has almost been forgotten.
“Of the world” is a giant and more comprehensive label, which does not fit everyone. They can stand out one year for goals or titles won, not for the excellent quality of their game. Leo dazzles, as he has done in the United States or at the beginning of the Qualifiers, where he scored two sensational goals against Peru and another novel against Ecuador. Some audiences are tired of seeing him at these ceremonies, but his master class is unmatched. For that you have to go back to Pelé or Maradona.
Jorge Barraza
Pair TIME
@JorgeBarrazaOK
More news in EL TIEMPO
Colombia national team would debut tremendous shirt in Copa América: new design leaked
Jenni Hermoso makes an incredible revelation: 'It was time to leave the bedroom door open'
#Haaland #close #39The #Best39 #world.. #Tango
