Opinion: Gigi not so golden Tuesday 21 November, 2006
It looks like Fabio Cannavaro is set to pip Gigi Buffon to the 2006 Golden Ball. And, as Richard Godden argues, justice seems to have been done
Michel Platini and Marco Tardelli are among the leading football figures to have crowned Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon as Europe’s best player of 2006. If the world’s most expensive shot-stopper does receive the Golden Ball – which would, incidentally, be the first time that a custodian has won it since the great Lev Yashin in 1963 – it would be a travesty.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a pretty impressive year for the man with the safest hands in world football. Having conceded just 12 goals in 18 Serie A appearances in 2006 after recovering from a dislocated shoulder, he then went on to star in Italy’s World Cup triumph, proving particularly decisive in the quarter-final clash against the Ukraine.
However, I find it hard to believe that he can be considered to be the best player in Europe when he wasn’t even Italy or Juve’s leading light in the corresponding period. That man, just as he had been for the 18 months leading up to the Mondiale triumph, was Fabio Cannavaro. Widely regarded as the key to the Bianconeri’s success in Fabio Capello’s two-year spell at the club, he is now helping Real Madrid return to the top of Spanish football.
But rather than wish for success over his old mate Gigi, the Azzurri skipper has come up with an idea which would satisfy both men. “I would give two Golden Balls, one for me and one for Buffon – is that possible?” he joked.
“Between myself and Gigi there’s respect and friendship, but in any case I hope that an Italian wins it because it would be a positive sign for our footballing movement. I’m already satisfied with what happened this past summer, but the Golden Ball would be an additional sign of respect towards me.”
The Neapolitan has been a model of consistency since putting his Inter nightmare behind him, and not many people in the world – apart from a few disgruntled Frenchmen – would argue that he didn’t deserve to thrust the famous gold trophy high into the Berlin night sky on the day that he won his 100th cap for the Azzurri.
But it would seem that most – Platini and Tardelli included – have quite a short memory. Having received plaudits throughout the tournament as Italy’s top player, and rightly so, the man now dubbed 'The Berlin Wall’ seems to have become football’s forgotten man. Given that he stands a mere 1.76m tall [to put that in perspective, Diego Maradona is 1.65m], it’s hardly surprising. But that makes him all the more remarkable.
How often have you read about a youngster being turned down by a club for being too small? Usually that applies to strikers and midfielders, let alone defenders, but such is Fabio’s incredible spring and ferocious tenacity, his height doesn’t even become an issue. Despite facing off against some of the world’s top headers of the ball in Mark Viduka, Brian McBride and Miroslav Klose, Cannavaro always came out on top – Italy conceded just one goal in open play during the tournament, and even that was a freak own goal by Cristian Zaccardo.
And not only is he a fiercely competitive player, but he also manages to do so whilst being fair. Not once was he cautioned at Germany ’06, and even in times of adversity he was able to crack a smile. When Marco Materazzi was sent off in the second round against Australia, young Andrea Barzagli was thrown on alongside Canna. Rather than panic, the experienced centre-back just smiled at his partner and told him: “Let’s have some fun!”
The Real Madrid man has already missed out on winning the Golden Ball awarded to the best player at the World Cup, thanks largely to the fact that the votes were accumulated before eventual winner Zinedine Zidane’s savage head-butt on Materazzi. It truly would be a sad day in football if he were to miss out again in the Ballon d’Or voting – although I’m sure he would just smile and get on with his usual day-to-day business. And that’s why the plucky native of Naples deserves to be crowned as Europe’s top player.
Channel4
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:groan: Look at this guy, like Buffon doesn't smile all the time too
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