In anticipation of next Monday when the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner will be unveiled, Sportsnet will present the case for each of the three finalists. On Wednesday, we examined Lionel Messi’s candidacy. Today, we review the credentials of Franck Ribery, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday.
Franck Ribery was undoubtedly the best player on the best team in the world last season. In a year when Bayern Munich seemingly won every competition they entered – barring a Super Cup setback against rivals Borussia Dortmund – Ribery’s star shone the brightest.
The French winger was named the best player in Europe by UEFA as his exploits was a major reason why Bayern conquered the world. He has a real chance at being the first player not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to win the award since Kaka did so in 2007. He doesn’t score goals at the rate that the La Liga duo do and his individual statistics don’t jump out at you right away.
Ribery can also hang his head high for being one of the only members of the French national team to actually perform for their country last year. France made a mess of qualifying, and barely scraped through to the World Cup after coming back to beat Ukraine in Paris. Ribery finished the qualification campaign with four goals and four assists in 10 matches. After years of being seen as a petulant player who was difficult to work with, Ribery really matured on the international stage to become one of the leaders of Les Bleus.
The counter argument to Ribery’s candidacy is a simple one. He was exceptional, but so was Bayern as a team. In fact, cases could be made for Phillip Lahm, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer.
While the aforementioned players were all important cogs in the all-conquering Bayern machine, Ribery was absolutely crucial. Bayern lost three games all season, with two of those losses coming when the former Lille academy graduate was absent.
While Muller, Robben, and sometimes Toni Kroos took turns playing on the right wing of Bayern’s attack, Ribery was an ever-present on the left. His direct, diagonal running and dribbling caused all sorts of problems for defences across Europe. The Frenchman finished last season with 11 goals and 19 assists in all competitions. He’s gone from strength to strength under new coach Pep Guardiola, notching 13 goals and 10 assists in 22 games this season. This year in the Bundesliga, Ribery is scoring or creating at a goal a game, higher than his 0.88 mark last season.
[polldaddy poll=7694250]
Messi and Ronaldo score goals at stratospheric levels—the world might never see pure scorers quite like this ever again—but the pair’s phenomenal tallies shouldn’t necessarily negate the merits of a dynamic, creative outlet.
Ribery had the second-highest assists per 90 minutes in European leagues last season (0.6) which was only bettered by Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta (0.69). He also led the Bundesliga in with 21 “big chances,” which is a sub-metric of “key passes” in which the player that receives the pass finds himself with a clear-cut scoring chance.
He also arguably does the most out of the trio in matches. Messi’s false nine role keeps him high up the pitch, where he can essentially roam wherever he likes. He can drop deep and receive the ball or have it played into him. Ronaldo stays pretty high up the pitch and while his defensive awareness has improved tremendously in recent years, Ribery still edges him.
Ribery’s diligence to track back and aid David Alaba is admirable. Jupp Heynckes employed a counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 system that saw Ribery pick up the ball in deep positions to drive at the opponent’s right back. His adaptability has been seamless since Guardiola arrived and instituted a 4-1-4-1, possession-based system. Being able to thrive in two different systems isn’t an easy task.
The two-man hegemony at the top of the sport is becoming a stale narrative. Yes, the award is for the best individual player, but wouldn’t it be worth championing other merits associated with the game?
Ronaldo and Messi may have had the goals last season, but Ribery had the last laugh by winning the trophies.
Don’t bet against him chuckling again on January 13.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
