ready for another one? I enjoy Carragher's tackles just as much if not more than a hocus pocus by Ronaldinho.
then why is mourinho letting him become a bosman player? just curious. i dont think he would ever let that happen with terry right now.
I honestly cannot remember which, but I can tell you I am not guessing. When there was a thread in the Chelsea forum over who shoudl win PotY last season, I thought Lampard deserved it over Terry by a nose. Somebody asked me to back my opinions up with stats, so I checked the OPTA stats (which only display the top 5 of each stat on the team, goals & assists aside), and Lampard was in pretty much every one of them - and #1 in the majority. Makalele led the team with tackles, and it was either Ferreira or Terry that came next... whether Lampard was in between them or behind both of them, I honestly cannot remember (and skysports.planetfootball.net clear their OPTA stats every new season, which is a bit of a bummer). I am good as definite however, that Lampard was top 3-4. Because you said Lampard is allowed to go forward so much because of Chelsea's great defense. My point was that Lampard actually contributes quite a bit to that great defense, which deserves merit in itself.
How so? Gerrard scored a crucial goal to get them out of the group stages late on, and a goal in the final. Some Liverpool fans have argued that Luis Garcia or Carragher was more important for them than Gerrard in the CL. And even if Gerrard did more than Lampard in the CL (something I personally don't think is indisputable by any means), there is no way you can put in a case for Gerrard being close to Lampard in the Premiership last season. And League form is probably trhe most important of any players, as it measures their consistency and overall production over such a wide timeframe. Go ask the Liverpool fans hwo their PotY was last season. They will tell you it was Carragher by a country mile... just go here to see for yourself.
But that's the thing... you said Chelsea's defense allowed Lampard so attack at his own free will, which was obviously not the entire truth since he made a lot of tackles and tracked back a fair bit, too. To say an attacking players benefits from playing on a team with a great defense implies that he does not contribute, and while Chelsea's solid defense (especially Makalele) has no doubt helped Lampard over the past 2.5 years, it is not like he has nothing to do with that defense himself. Maybe we just got wires crossed, but mentioning Chelsea' great defense only further helps his claim, imho. And for the record, I am not saying Ronnie was completely undeserving or anything... him, Lampard or Riquelme would indeed have all been good choices. I personalyl just would have gone with Lampard. My main qualm is Gerrard getting so much votes; there is no way he was as good as Lampard, Riquelme or Ronnie last season... or Sheva, or Henry, or Carragher, and the list goes on. P.S: I also feel Rooney got a bit slighted. He doesn't deserve to win it yet by any means, but 25th was unfair on him if you ask me, and probably had more to do with his temperment than his actual play.
Somebody queue the tape of the Argentina/Germany game in the Confederations Cup. I realize it's just a BS FIFA tournament, but Riquelme was sublime. He was always one or two steps ahead of the Germans. Klinsmann couldn't say enough about him. Also, he's making Forlan and that diving fvck Figueroa look like stars. Hell, just for that he should win some award. Nice was right, any of the three (Dinho, Lampard, or Riquelme) would be a good choice.
I don't understand all of the people saying "Lampard contributes more" and "Lampard is solid in every competition." Lampard is a great player and no one can doubt his talents, but Ronaldinho was by far a better player this year, which is why he earned the most votes and won the award. People can't say Ronaldinho isn't consistent just because he's not amazing every game (although most games he is). He won the Spanish league and the Spanish super cup with Barcelona, and also lead the Brazilian national team to win the confederations cup. Besides these achievements, he is also amazing to watch and has quickly helped Barca become one of the strongest clubs in Europe. Many people think he's only a "flashy" player but he's a lot more than just that. He does amazing flashy moves that help him score goals and give perfect passes, most of the time without even looking!! You can't beat a player that's both extremely skilled and effective and this is what seperates him from the rest. I also feel that the quality of the goals Ronaldinho scores require a certain magic and brilliance the no other player has, which is another quality that makes him the best. He definitley deserved this award and based on the way he's been playing lately, I believe that he will repeat as the FIFA player of the year.
Do you think that flair players have an advantage over other players when it comes to this sort of voting?
Definitely, if for nothing else but the simple fact that they grab more headlines when they pull off their moves correctly. /\ /\ /\ A sentence that might be taken in the wrong context.
From Marca.com: 1.-Ronaldinho (BRA/Barcelona) 225 Points 2.-Frank Lampard (ING/Chelsea) 148 3.-Steven Gerrard (ING/Liverpool) 142 4.-Thierry Henry (FRA/Arsenal) 41 5.-Andrei Shevtchenko (UKR/Milan) 33 6.-Paolo Maldini (ITA/Milan) 23 7.-Adriano (BRA/Inter) 22 8.-Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SUEJuventus) 21 9.- Kaká (BRA/Milan) 19 10.-Samuel Eto'o (CAM/Barcelona) 18 - John Terry (ING/Chelsea) 18 12.- Juninho (BRA/Lyon) 15 13.- Claude Makelele (FRA/Chelsea) 8 14.- Michael Ballack (GER/Bayer Múnich) 7 - Petr Cech (CZE/Chelsea) 7 - Didier Drogba (CDM/Chelsea) 7 .- Juan Román Riquelme (ARG/Villarreal) 7 18.-Zinedine Zidane (FRA/Real Madrid) 5 19.-Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) 4 20.-Jamie Carragher (ING/Liverpool) 3 .- Cristino Ronaldo (POR/Manchester) 3 22.-Mickael Essien (GHA/Chelsea) 2 23.-Luis García (ESP/Liverpool)1 - Pavel Nedved (CZE/Juventus) 1 Please Vote: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272256
They played two games head to head, and Gerrard and Lampard mostly neutralized each other. So that is false.
I could argue about why Lampard is more deserving than Ronaldinho, or why Ronaldinho is less deserving than Lampard (that's a better fit) but what kills me is Gerrard and Ibrahimovic... what???? how the hell?? Also, any human being that thinks Drogba is the world's best player and apparently there are 7, should be shot.
It's tempting to think Lampard, who isn't flamboyant, is more effective than Dinho. But what makes Gaucho such a devastating player is that he *is effective with his arsenal of circus tricks and feints--the passes off the back, the no-look feeds, the elasticos, the flip-flaps, the step-overs, the whatnots. All these insane-looking moves he's perfected through endless repetition are powerful, telling, open up defenses and create chances. Not to mention that Ronaldhino will occasionally invent a move *during a game. That's something no one in the world has the audacity to attempt; yet he succeeds in doing it. You should read Simon Kuper's article on Gaucho, where he discusses some of the improvisations that he's come up with to solve the problem of organize defense... Of course, this takes nothing away from Lampard, who's a fine player. Most people here would say the award would have been in good hands with any of Gaucho, Lampard, and Riquelme. The actual votes are puzzling. Ballack, too, might have been higher IMO.
Basically I agree, the amount of moves he has to open up a defence seems endless, and you can tell he improvises some of them on the spot. BTW, I would love to read that article, can you provide a link?
Yes, dribble like a god, pass like a god, improvise like a god, show the creativity of a god, play effectively and please the fans...once he has that under his belt he will surely have a better chance of winning. PS. I don't understand how Riquelme finishing 14th is seen as a joke to you ? Do you realize he is the reason that a team who has done nothing in their history were able to make the champions league and are actually doing very well in it this year? That more then merits a 14th place finish (which is not even that good).