Much ado about nothing
Monday evening saw an overwhelmed Portugal and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo reclaim the Ballon d’Or he desperately desired after winning it five years ago. Given the media campaign that preceded the gala event in Zurich, Switzerland I was not exactly surprised at the outcome although for me, Argentina and Barcelona matador Lionel Messi shall remain the better player even for 2013.
When it comes to opinions there is no wrong or right and I respect everyone else’s choice of best player, including those made by FAM technical director John Kaputa and retired Flames player James Sangala. A lot of fuss has been made about their voting and I can hardly understand the hullaballoo. We all have different benchmarks and we do not necessarily watch the same games all the time.
I was actually shocked by suggestions that the choices by the Malawian voters are a reflection of the poor standards of football in the country. Really? What is the connection there? Belgium and Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany had Franck Ribery, Yaya Toure and Eden Hazard in his top three. England manager also had Zlatan Ibrahomivic and Robin van Persie. Poor standards as well?
I know the standards of our football have been low for some time, but there is no way that will affect our choices for the best player in the world and if one were to see how some great players and coaches voted you would see what I mean. Some of us who feel certain choices were obvious cannot even kick a ball, coach or write and yet we voted for Ronaldo. Do you need any more evidence that there is no link?
Rather than waste time debating that, therefore, let us concentrate on the action that is currently getting more exciting, especially in the English Premier League. I cannot remember any season that was this tight with so many teams still in the tight race and even more in the relegation dog fight. The top three are separated by two points, but the bottom 11 sides are only separated by six points.
In such a tight race, every game and every point counts such that the margin for error is getting smaller with each passing game. Mathematically, all the teams in the top six can hope for a title challenge although free-scoring Manchester City, remain favourites because of the depth of their squad. They have scored 99 goals so far in all competitions and seem to be finally sorting out their away form.
Of course, the main focus this week will be on Stamford Bridge when Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea host defending champions Manchester United tomorrow evening. It was important for the Red Devils to get back to winning ways ahead of this fixture because they needed to restore their confidence to stand any chance of breaking Mourinho’s unbeaten record at home which spans many games.
Given the ground they have lost already on their rivals, every game is now a must-win for United, especially where they are meeting opponents at the top end. They are already out of title contention by my reckoning, but a loss tomorrow will even dent their chances of qualifying for the coveted Uefa Champions League, especially if the teams above them get positive results in their own games.
These are testing times for United fans because they are used to being in the title conversation. They have already dropped 26 points so far, which is more than the 25 they dropped the whole of last season on their way to the 20th title.
