The award is not for the better player but the player of the year Ronaldo in 2012 had a better year then messi IMO
In my eyes Yaya Toure although he doesn't always play like a DM. But he is nominated. Even then, Busquets is not in top three of DMs. Btw, I erroneously said in the past that he was the best DM around and funnily, the same Pipioli attacked me on that. I have changed my mind or was wrong back then.
Giving no answer is better than an irrelevant and ad hominem answer. But considering your avatar I'll leave it at that.
Fair enough. We all have our biases. I appreciate the way Abidal has fought through his health issues in an effort to get back on the pitch and you apparently don't. Oh well.
And then you have to admit that Ronaldo wasted two big chances to spice up his résumé. Those stats analysis have of course serious limitations in many ways (as covered before extensively) and for their national teams the gap isn't that big any more but in the eyes of many Messi is the better player. If Ronaldo had played in the euro final and won the Champions League, it is a different story. Especially because Messi disappointed a bit against Milan and esp. Chelsea.
I agree , I think Ronaldo has a chance for the next one if real win the CL , so far Barcelona has a big lead for la liga though Ronaldo lost on penalties in both major semi finals , at least he scored 2 goals and set up the other against bayern Penalties at the end of the day can go either way And Ronaldo and messi are continuing in the same form, Ronaldo is currently leading CL scoring maybe this will be his year if he doesn't win 2012(I expect messi will) I suspect the messi lobby will be happy to give messi 5 in a row and be happy about that . Sooner or later I'm sure voters will get tired of it.
Change mind means: over the course of a year the evaluation can change depending on input of player and competition of peers Being wrong means: I was wrong when I made the comment, Busquets was never the best DM That's it. Of course everyone is wrong sometimes.
Why every time I post someone has to lambast me for being Portuguese? Many of messis supporters here seem to be Barcelona or Argentina fans .. In Portugal a lot of people don't even support Ronaldo , you might be surprised at the amount of people who hate him and Mourinho
You've already listed Yaya ("although he doesn't always play like a DM"). Which other two do you place ahead of Busquets?
Lolwut? Was involved all the goals in QF. 1. Got the first penalty, scored it. 2. Scored the second penalty. 3. Assisted Iniesta after 50 yard dribble.
There's no question that Busquets is the best pure DM in the world. No other player plays his role better.
Was just about to post this. I can't really see anyone close enough to him to make a serious argument. Certainly not Toure, who IMO actually does his best work further up the field.
It's unfortunate for Alonso because I think the games where he's struggled the most have been against Barca. So his weaknesses get exposed against a side that obviously Busquets never has to face. In any case though, I always come away from those games thinking that Alonso lacks the agility/touch that Busquets and the other Barca midfielders have. Conversely, I've never seen Busquets break out any of those absurdly accurate driven passes that Alonso is so capable of. On the balance though I'd give the nod to Busquets.
Well it's a way of seeing things, I highly doubt a lot of other Italian coaches would have turned Italy's fortunes around this quickly, but more so changed the perception of the public that much. Luck also plays a part in football and everything went Spain's way in the final. More so, the final result told as much of the dysfunctional calendar that the teams level. Italy were spent, played longer and had one day less of rest, which is insane. Heck, 5 starters couldn't even train before the final. I would have loved to see those teams at equal strength. In fact, we kind of saw it in the first round. The fact that in every international competition one of the finalists starts with a big disadvantage is one of the most crazy things in football IMO. Spain were good enough and surely didn't need to be helped. He won't win it, but he deserves it.
I think when it comes to long passes few can touch Alonso but you're right, he lacks some of the dexterity and quickness Busquets has. They're similar but also different but they're the standard for the position in my opinion.
What the heck is the Messi lobby ? Messi is just a better and more efficient player than Ronaldo, and until now he has always been. If Ronaldo improves and gets better than Messi I'll have no problem saying, writing he's better. I'm french, not biased, as a Juve fan I despise both Barca and Real. Messi is just better, and by a pretty conclusive margin. No conspiracy theory needed.
Alonso always seems to be partnered with another more defensive minded MF. Mascherano, Lass, Khedira, etc...For example I wouldn’t trust Alonso playing the role Busquets plays right now in a 3 man midfield.
Ronaldo fan boys cling to stats...use your eyes and in terms of all round ability it is not even close....Ronaldo plays for himself, Messi plays for the love of his shirt, fans and team mates.... Can't honestly believe this is still being seriously debated, the distance between them is actually light years