Freshly named, the 30 contenders for the Ballon d'Or 2025 will be fixed on September 22, during the traditional ceremony organized at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in Paris, but with a little ahead if we consider the calendar of previous years. At the small game of forecasts, two names are already emerging. Those of Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal.
Among PSG players, winners of the Champions League last spring, many of them are candidates for the golden sphere. From Vitinha to Gianluigi Donnarumma via Joao Neves or Achraf Hakimi. The latter also underlines its legitimacy in a recent interview with Canal+. “” The statistics I had this year are not those of a normal defender. I think that when a defender does that, he deserves more than an attacker … »»
The point of view is certainly held. And he is shared by an informed observer from the round ball: coach Rolland Courbis, now a consultant on RMC. This one militates for a double golden ball: one awarded to offensive players, the other reserved for defensive players. “” This is something that I have been contesting for over 60 years “, He clarifies.
Ballon d'Or, only one goalkeeper and three defenders in the record
“” The Ballon d'Or is the most stupid and unfair trophy on the planet. The anomaly is that he was invented by intelligent people. It was a trophy that was launched in 1956, they had time to progress but … today, we are on the most stupid regulations in the world. I am very happy if Dembélé wins the Ballon d'Or. But I must not put myself in the place of Hakimi … What I ask is to have an offensive Ballon d'Or and a defensive Ballon d'Or », Storms the former coach of OM or Bordeaux.
To support his remarks, the one who held the post of central defender during his career as a footballer is happy to venture on another field. “” It is as if we imagined the “gold racket” with both tennis, ping-pong, badminton players … it has nothing to do! In the past, only one goalkeeper – Lev Yachine in 1963 – was able to lift the Ballon d'Or. For only three defenders: Franz Beckenbauer, twice (1972 and 1976), Matthias Sammer (1996) and Fabio Cannavaro (2006).
