The 68th edition of the Ballon d’Or Awards are on the horizon. They are due to take place on Monday, 28 October, in Paris. The awards have been presented annually since 1956, and the Balon d’Or is seen to be the most significant accolade that a footballer can win.
A variety of prizes are up for grabs, including individual awards for men’s and women’s football, as well as new awards this year, for the best Male and Female coaches of the year. There are a variety of stars nominated, including Erling Haaland, William Saliba, Nico Williams and Granit Xhaka for the men. For the women, Aitana Bonmatí, Lucy Bronze, and Sophia Smith make the shortlist, among others.
However, are these awards a way of rewarding only individual achievement in a team where achievements and trophies have been won by a collective?
The example of Bayer Leverkusen is interesting: as a team, led by Xabi Alonso, they were the first team to remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga in the 23/24 season. Surely this would not be possible without the entire squad, as well as the backroom staff instilling a resilience and winning mentality into the team more widely? Therefore, it seems almost disappointing that only some individuals from the wider set up are recognised.
On the other hand, some may argue that moments of individual brilliance, such as Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick in the UEFA Euro 2024 knockout stages against Slovakia are worthy of recognition. Bellingham, in this case, was able to get an equaliser to keep a mediocre England team in the tie, eventually allowing them to go on and win.
This is true, but at the same time England did not prevail and win the Euros, and Bellingham is more likely to be rewarded for his role in winning the Champions League with Real Madrid.
Although there are club of the year awards as part of the wider Ballon d’Or ceremony, the clubs nominated are limited, and individual awards take up the majority of the time on the night.
Overall, it does seem incredibly contradictory that individual players can win awards such as the Ballon d’Or due to the trophies they have won with their club and/or national side, whilst potential unsung heroes, who were also a part of these great achievements, are neglected in favour of others.
Photo Credits: “25th Laureus World Sports Awards – Red Carpet – Jude Bellingham – 240422 190551-2 (cropped)” by Barcex is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.