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"The best player in the world is a black and Brazilian player."
'Legend' was Ronaldo's Sharout. This time, Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) laughed.
FIFA held the 'The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024' in Doha, Qatar on the 18th (Korea time). FIFA, which established the Player of the Year Award in 1991, has been integrating with the Ballon d'Or selected by French football magazine France Football since 2010 and has been holding an award ceremony separately from the Ballon d'Or since 2016.
Vinicius was responsible for the 'Men's Player of the Year' category, which received the most attention. The men's player of the year was decided through votes from national team coaches, captains, and media during the evaluation period from August 21, 2023 to August 10 this year. Visinius received 48 points in total, beating Rodri (Man City) with 43 points and Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) with 37.
Ronaldo, who announced his candidacy for the election for the president of the Brazil Football Association, posted on his SNS, `It has been 16 years since the world's best player trophy came to Brazil. Now it has duly come into Vinicius's hands,' he said. Then 'He is a victim of racism so often that it is hard to imagine. Vinicius, a symbol of resistance and recovery, leads the world of soccer today. They tried to erase Vinicius, but Vinicius shook the world 'The best player in the world is a black man and a Brazilian player'
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The award ceremony drew attention as a return match between Vinicius and Rodri. Rodri laughed at the 2024 Ballon d'Or Awards held at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris, France, on Oct. 29. The Ballon d'Or is the most honorable trophy a footballer can receive, given to the player with the best performance of the previous season.
Rodri, who was present on crutches, was handed the Ballon d'Or by George Weah 'Liberian Football Hero'. Rodri became the first Spanish winner in 64 years since Luis Suarez Miramontes in 1960. Rodri was named the third Spanish winner of all time after Alfredo Di Stefano (1957 and 1959) and Suarez.
This is the first time a player born in the 1990s has won the Ballon d'Or. Rodri was born in 1996. Cristiano Ronaldo (5 times), born in 1985, and Lionel Messi (8 times), born in 1987, dominated for a long time, while Luca Modric, who caused an upset, was born in 1985, and Kareem Benzema was born in 1987. Rodri became the first Ballon d'Or winner in Manchester City's club history with this award. He was also the winner of the English Premier Leaguer Ballon d'Or, which took place 16 years after Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.
The final choice for the Ballon d'Or was Rodri. Rodri is undoubtedly the best midfielder in the world. Manchester City is full of top players, but there is no replacement for Rodri. He plays the most important role in Pep Guardiola-style football. Manchester City is always strong, but the performance is not very good in Rodri's absence. Manchester City did not lose 52 consecutive games in which Rodri started. In the 174 EPL games that Rodri has played since joining Manchester City, Manchester City has lost only 19.
Rodri, who joined Manchester City in July 2019, has played more than 50 games in four of the past five seasons, including 52 games in the 2019-2020 season, 53 games in the 2020-2021 season, 56 games in the 2022-2023 season, and 50 games in the 2023-2024 season, except for 46 official games in the 2021-2022 season. With Rodri's strong performance in the midfield, Manchester City won four EPL in a row that Manchester City could not achieve under Alex Ferguson.
Rodri also played an important role in Spain's national team, leading them to Euro 2024 championship. Rodri was named the tournament's most valuable player. Rodri plays in a less visible defensive midfielder position, but in recognition of his ability, he ranked fifth at last year's Ballon d'Or. He was considered a stronger candidate this season and made an amazing history of receiving the Ballon d'Or as a defensive midfielder.
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Initially, the most likely candidate for the Ballon d'Or was Vinicius. There have been reports in Spain that Vinicius has confirmed the award of the Ballon d'Or since last month. Various betting companies also considered Vinicius highly likely to win the award.
Vinicius was a two-time Real Madrid champion. He scored 15 goals and 6 assists in the league to help him win, followed by 6 goals and 5 assists in the European Champions League, giving his team its 15th big year. In particular, he made a strong impression in every big game, scoring a goal in the European Champions League final.
The first-ever winner of the 2000s was expected, but it fluctuated at the last minute. News broke that Vinicius would miss the Ballon d'Or award ceremony, making the atmosphere strange. The entire Real Madrid squad, including Vinicius, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Carlo Ancelotti, were absent from the Ballon d'Or awards. Real Madrid expressed discomfort that Vinicius was pushed back by external factors, not skills. Real Madrid should be awarded by Dani Carvajal if Vinicius fails to win the award. If not, it is clear that the Ballon d'Or and UEFA do not respect Real Madrid.
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The aftermath was extraordinary. Brazil is up in the air. The political and business circles even stepped up. Real Madrid players also expressed their discomfort, saying it was unfair. In the end, Bangsang Garcia, the general manager of the Ballon d'Or, stepped up. Garcia said through L'Equipe that "Real Madrid teammates had an adverse effect on Vinicius's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.' He said "The winner of the Ballon d'Or is decided by a vote of 100 journalists. With Real Madrid players Bellingham and Carvajal among the top four candidates, Vinicius' vote would have been dispersed. "So Vinicius lost his vote. " I can guarantee that neither Real Madrid nor Manchester City knew the winner," he added.
The winner of the 'The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024" was Vinicius. With this award, Vinicios became the first Brazilian player in 17 years to be named FIFA Player of the Year after Kaká in 2007. FIFA explained that Vinicius scored 24 goals in 39 matches for Real Madrid in the 2023-2024 season and also led the team to a European Champions League victory. He was a member of the Brazilian national team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa America in 2024 and also won the Spanish Primera Liga and the UEFA Super Cup.
Vinicius said "Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I want to thank my family who gave up their dream to achieve my dream, and my team members who made me believe that I could do something big," he said.
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Vinicius redoubled his joy by also being named in the 'The Best FIFA Best 11'. Vinicius, as well as 'monster'Elling Holan (Man City) and 'supernatural'Yamin Ramal (Barcelona) were selected as strikers. The midfield was picked by Rodri, Bellingham, and retired Tony Cross. Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Hoobeng Díaz (Man City) and William Saliba (Arnall) made the four backs. The best goalkeeper was Argentina's 'Emilsin' Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa).
In the meantime, Aitana Bonmaty (Barcelona) won the award for the second consecutive year, while Carlo Ancelotti, the Real Madrid coach of the year, won the title. The "Women's Coach of the Year" was awarded to Emma Hayes, who led the United States to the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho was chosen for the Puskas Award, which is given to the player who scored the most wonderful goal. He scored an exquisite overhead kick goal in the English Premier League (EPL) match against Everton in November last year, drawing praise from all over the world. Son Heung-min won the Puskas Award for scoring against Burnley in the past.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
