2014 Ballon d’Or Winner: The One That Got Away

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2014 Ballon d’Or win was simply a runaway victory.

But in reality, the award should have been hotly contested with an alternate winner named.

Before the tournament, Ronaldo was the clear favourite, at odds of 1/6 against. In contrast, Germany and Bayern Munich Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was a 25/1 outsider.

Yet he was more than deserving of the accolade following twelve months of epic performances, an amazing highlights reel and becoming a winner of football’s ultimate prize.

Manuel Neuer’s Ballon d’Or might just be the one that got away.

Ronaldo Wins…But Why?

As predicted, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 Ballon d’Or at a canter with 37.66% of the final vote. But was his romping victory totally justified?

His performances for Real Madrid were typically world class, during the 2013/14 season he played 47 times and scored an incredible 51 goals.

Although Ronaldo missed out on the La Liga title to unexpected winners Atletico Madrid, Los Blancos claimed both the Copa del Rey and Champions League honours.

In the months leading up to his Ballon d’Or success, CR7’s 2014/15 campaign was explosive as he would go on to score a remarkable 61 goals in 54 games.

Yet in this World Cup year, Ronaldo’s displays on the international stage were uncharacteristically lacking. Portugal were eliminated from the tournament in its group stage as they finished third behind Germany and USA.

Ronaldo played only nine times for his country in 2014 and scored just 5 goals – his only World Cup strike coming in a 2-1 win vs Ghana.

Despite another stunning year for Ronaldo – there was perhaps a worthier Ballon d’Or winner.

Manuel Neuer Is Overlooked

Manuel Neuer finished third in the 2014 Ballon d’Or yet there is a strong argument that he should easily have grabbed second spot at the very least.

In 2013/14, Lionel Messi still had a fantastic season in front of goal, scoring 41 goals in 46 games but notably failed to win a single honour.

However, the Argentine did produce a great campaign on the international stage, winning 14 caps for his country and finding the net on eight occasions.

But Neuer was only 0.04% behind Lionel Messi with 15.72% of the vote.

The German Keeper was incredibly consistent, making 52 appearances in 2013/14, keeping 25 clean sheets and conceding 34 goals in all competitions. A truly world class record.

Whilst Bayern Munich went out of the Champions League at the semi-finals stage they did win both the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal. His crowning glory came as Germany lifted the 2014 World Cup beating Messi’s Argentina 1-0 in the final.

Yet winning the Ballon d’Or as a goalkeeper is notoriously difficult. To date, Soviet stopper Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to claim the award and that triumph was way back in 1963.

Manuel Neuer joins a list of elite players who were likely deserving of a Ballon d’Or win in place of both Ronaldo and Messi including Andrés Iniesta in 2010 and Frank Ribery in 2013.

2014 Ballon d’Or Top 20

Trivia

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals to game ratio of 1.12 was the highest registered during his nine seasons at Real Madrid.
• Lionel Messi scored eight goals for Argentina in 2014 – but this was only his fourth highest international tally in a calendar year.
• Manuel Neuer’s 13 caps for Germany in 2014 is his joint-most in a twelve month period along with the year 2010 – both World Cup years!