The Ballon d'Or between Messi and 4 candidates .. "New Cannavaro" looms on the horizon
Argentine star Lionel Messi. AFP
Italian Chiellini.. Age is just a number. AFP
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The image of the best player in the world, nominated to win the Ballon d'Or presented by "France Football" for the 2020-2021 season, crystallized after the end of the football season with the conclusion of the European Nations Championships and the Copa America, which were crowned by the Italian and Argentine teams, respectively.
The Spanish newspaper "Marca" nominated five stars, led by Argentine star Lionel Messi, who won the award six times (a record), especially after winning his first title with his country, while witnessing a real competition from four stars - according to "Marca" choices - and they are: The Italian Jorginho, who won the Champions League with Chelsea and with his country the Continental Cup, English Harry Kane, the Premier League's top scorer and European Nations runner-up, the veteran defender and captain of the Italian national team Giorgio Chiellini, who showed a high level in the European Cup, and finally the Polish Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich's goal machine, the German champion The "Bundesliga" and the holder of the Golden Ball title in 2020.
The Copa America appears as a kiss of life for Messi, who in past seasons seemed frustrated with his club Barcelona in light of the administrative crises, the decline in the level and many failures, most notably the season before last, the heavy defeat against Bayern Munich 8-2 in the Champions League, but winning a major continental championship in Copa America and on Brazil's account makes Messi's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or this year.
At a time when the nominations began to crystallize with the end of the Copa America and the European Nations, ideas outside the box began to emerge from time to time, as did “Marca” with its nomination of Chiellini (36 years old), as if the football world would be subject to realism and give a defender the award for the best in the world again after he was His Italian compatriot Fabio Cannavaro won the award in 2006 when he led the Italian national team to win the World Cup at the expense of France and from the same position occupied by Chiellini.
As for many, they went to tip Jorginho, who has tremendous tactical capabilities and his ability to tip his team, as he was one of the most players in the world to play matches with Chelsea and Italy and the most achievement in terms of value and quality (the Champions League and the European Nations Cup), in addition to having reached three finals in One season he scored two.
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