Jun-hide said:
Balon D'or should be given to both players. I reckon Fabio and Gigi are at their best playing alongside each other. They possess wonderful understanding of others intention and throughout their performances with Juve and Nazionale, it was evident that two players complemented each other so well to the extent it is rather meaningless to speak of one without the other. A typical example in case - In an extra time against Germany, Canna closed down Poldolski in a manner that gave the German just one angle to hit the ball knowing full well that no matter how hard the ball is struck Gigi will be able to block it. And being Gigi, he stood in the place where Canna was expected him to be and when the ball indeed went flew into him, he parried the ball well away. The save looked emphatic but what was impressing was not the save itself but the positional sense of Gigi and Canna's tactical awareness. I say lets give the honour to both players.
Jun-hide you put into perfect words exactly what I think. I adore Canna but he and Gigi playing together with Juve and the Azzurri were something rare and special on defense. They had an amazing communication between them, each knowing what the other would do. It saddened me terribly when Canna left Juve (I understand his decision and don't call him a traitor) not only because I would miss him but also because it would dissolve that special partnership with Gigi that I so enjoyed watching.
As for those of you claiming that Canna is no good with Real...it's not easy to uproot yourself and your family and settle into a new country where you don't speak the language, where you can't speak to most of your teammates and play on a team with a different style than you are used to. I think both Zambrotta and Canna are having the same problems. Only time will tell, once they have adjusted to their new lives. I often wonder if they regret their choices.
Anyway, back to topic...I think the perfect ending would have been a tie and both Canna and Gigi sharing the award. They are good friends and I think they would have liked that.
Edited to add: I think what pushed Canna ahead in the votes was that he was the Captain of the Azzurri and he showed true, strong leadership to his team and led that team to World Cup Victory.
