1.0Mathematical 7https://mathematical7.com/m7rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="jfc8zGbQT8"><a href="https://mathematical7.com/m7/ballon-dor-trophy-or-talent/">Ballon d’Or – Trophy or Talent?</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://mathematical7.com/m7/ballon-dor-trophy-or-talent/embed/#?secret=jfc8zGbQT8" width="600" height="338" title="“Ballon d’Or – Trophy or Talent?” — Mathematical 7" data-secret="jfc8zGbQT8" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://mathematical7.com/m7/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> https://mathematical7.com/m7/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/messi_ronaldo.jpg294171Cristiano Ronaldo has just won his fourth Ballon d’Or award for the world’s player of the year 2016. Very few will doubt that he deserves the award particularly this year. Why? In 2016 he led Portugal to win their first European Nations Cup title and Real Madrid to their European Champions League and La Liga titles. By the time you are reading this he would most likely have added the World Club title to his chest of trophies for the year. What stands out even as Ronaldo won all these trophies this year is that everyone can also notice that he has lost a little of the sharpness, agility and speed that made him the most difficult forward to stop only two or three years ago, even though he has not lost his nose for goals and finishing power in front of goal. Age, undoubtedly, has started to take its toll, slowly and inevitably blunting his edge. It is important to note that Ronaldo did not even play in the final match that gave Portugal the Euro 2016 trophy, and that in the final match of the 2016 Champions Club league against Athletico Madrid, for 120 minutes that the match lasted, he was a passenger on the field, although when he was called up to deliver during the shoot out that gave Real Madrid the trophy he delivered as a true leader. Again, that is the hallmark of a champion - winning even when you play poorly. Yet, even as twilight beckons in the distance in his incredible career, it is universally agreed that he deserves the coveted crown, in 2016. Why? Apart from his unassailable goal haul in all competitions during the period, his teams won trophies despite his absence in one of the finals, and his less than stellar performance in another. What this clearly means is that to win trophies and to put up an individual exceptional performance must go together! It is, in my humble opinion, for that simple reason that Lionel Messi was considered less deserving of the 2016 Ballon d’Or award than Ronaldo, even though as an individual he maintained his unsurpassed brilliance, consistency and artistry on the field of play but had no trophies to show. Comparing the two players year after year since 2007, and selecting who should be the world’s player of the year between them has become an annual ritual of some sort decided by slim considerations. This year it is about the trophies won ahead of the talent they exhibited. The two players have a lot in common yet they are also very different in a lot of other ways. Ronaldo is a training machine, a pure athletic specimen, physically developing his strength, power, speed, endurance, sharpness and technique to hone his talent and sustain his high level performance. Messi is a pure artistic genius capable of effortlessly doing just about anything with the ball at his feet. He is so good that only the failure of winning the World Cup trophy stands in the way of the pronouncement that he is the greatest player in the history of the game! It is clear, as the case of Ronaldo this year has confirmed, that you do not have to be the best to be the winner of the Ballon d’Or! Just be great and be a part of a winning team! That is the clincher! Comparing Ronaldo and Messi