Forget Messi & Ronaldo, Falcao should win Ballon d’Or

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The gala presentation for the 2012 Ballon d’Or may still be some way off, however talk has already begun over who will be crowned the best footballer in the world.

Three-time winner Lionel Messi is favourite for many people, while others believe Real Madrid’s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has finally done enough to pip his Argentine nemesis to the accolade after leading his team to the league title last season.  However, there have been other stars that have shone during 2012. Andrea Pirlo put Italy in the European Championship final and led a Juventus team that finished the Serie A unbeaten, and how about Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao? The striker seems to score every time he plays and looking at his stats,  there are many reasons to believe he deserves a vote for the award as well.

…..Radamel’s 15 goals were instrumental in Atleti’s charge to two trophies; he scored a double in the UEFA Europe League final against Athletic Club and scored at least one goal in each of the previous rounds, something even Messi didn’t achieve.  The Atlético striker also scored 17 goals in the 2011 Europa League campaign, meaning that in the 2011/12 football year Falcao has scored 32 goals in Europe – five more than Messi and 16 more than Ronaldo. Falcao also received two European winner’s medals in 2012 – something out of reach for both Ronaldo and Messi.

…..Falcao took 50 fewer shots than Messi and 78 less than Cristiano in the last La Liga season. If we take Falcao’s average of shots per goal (5,2) and we project him with the shots of either Messi or Cristiano, the Colombian would have scored 39 goals in Messi’s shoes and 51 in Ronaldo’s boots. However, playing for Atlético, Radamel has to ‘settle’ for half of those – although he still has two European trophies.

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Last but by no means least, Falcao has put Colombia on the world football map again – something that hasn’t happened  since Carlos Valderrama and Rene  Higuita retired in the late 1990’s. The last time Colombia had anything to do with a World Cup, was in 2006 when Shakira sang the tournament song. In fact, Colombia – currently second in the COMEBOL qualifying stage – hasn’t featured in a World Cup since 1998. The 14 year drought is about to end thanks to Falcao’s current performance which has seen him score in three of the ‘cafeteros’ four victories in this campaign.

Explore the case for Falcao’s supremacy over Messi & Ronaldo at length over at elcentrocampista.com.