Still scratching my Ballon d’Or irritation!

There I was sipping on a drink anxiously with my eyes glued on my 42 inch screen waiting for the year’s obvious news, Lionel Messi to be crowned the world’s best player.

Saturday, January 12, 2013
Ivan R. Mugisha

There I was sipping on a drink anxiously with my eyes glued on my 42 inch screen waiting for the year’s obvious news, Lionel Messi to be crowned the world’s best player. And I wasn’t surprised as the Atomic Flea as he is known surpassed Michel Platini record of winning the Ballon d’Or three times in a row.Cristiano Ronaldo remains my favorite all-round footballer, but in all honesty, he had no chance against Messi who had a magical year with a tally ninety-one goals in 2012. My biggest frustration came when they announced the FifproXI. For a moment I thought it was a prank; then I realised it was real- that all the eleven players are from Spain!This is the first time in history a FifproXI team was named without a single Champions League winner; and it’s incredibly ridiculous how players like Marcello, Gerard Pique Falcao and Sergio Ramos, to mention but a few ended up on that team.As a matter of fact, the only players who were named and deserve to be on that team are only Messi, Ronaldo and Iniesta. The rest are a complete shocker; someone like Dani Alves had a terrible season with both Barcelona and Brazil, being benched by Guardiola at times-and winning nothing with Brazil.It’s a wonder and mystery how players like Andrea Pirlo were left out in favour of Xavi. For starters, Pirlo was Italy’s star player at Euros 2012.He has also dominated the Juventus midfield since leaving AC Milan, and was instrumental in helping the Turin side go 49 games unbeaten. Why wasn’t he considered?Look at the inclusion of Falcao…isn’t this insanity! Comedy! He only won the Europa League and the Uefa Super Cup was considered ahead of Didier Drogba, who won the Champions League and FA Cup with Chelsea. Robert Lewandowski had a remarkable year with Borussia Dortmund, scoring 22 goals that helped his club lift the Bundesliga title and the German Cup…but he was also overlooked in favour of Falcao, who scored 24 goals but finished outside of the Champion League places. Simply put, either the votes were rigged or the voting system is rotten.For FifproXI and Ballon d’Or to get the credibility it deserves, it must change to a method that puts all leagues’ top performers in consideration- not just the two-horse La Liga.Blatter continues to blabber nonsenseHe once suggested that racist insults should end with a handshake on the pitch- he also suggested that women footballers should wear skimpy jerseys to attract fans.He has again proved his controversial side, this time by criticising AC Milan’s Kevin-Prince Boateng for walking off the pitch after fans of Pro Patria abused him racially.Blatter has often indicated how out of touch he is with the real world. Unfortunately for football, Blatter has managed to stifle all kind of opposition that even the usually proud English are scared to stand against him in the run for FIFA President.Now as it is witnessed almost every weekend, a black player is sadly targeted without strong protection from either FIFA or UEFA. Benitez isn’t yet up to taskHe once said he would never manage Chelsea, then, Benitez ate his words and made a u-turn. Now he is probably the most hated manager in the league, loathed by both Chelsea and other clubs’ fans.So far as Chelsea interim manager, Benitez has won the less important games and lost all the important games. He lost to Corinthians in Club World Club, and on Wednesday, lost the first leg of the Capital One Cup at home against Swansea.Swansea has proved the surprise team this season- they do not fear any opponent and have a stylish play of attack headed by the efficient Michu. Again, the Spanish connection between Benitez and Torres became the demise of Chelsea.  Instead of starting the in-form Demba Ba, dreadful Torres started.It is high time Roman Abramovich owned up his mistakes; offload Torres the flop and the fat Spanish waiter, then Chelsea could be back on its feet again.