Since the Gold Ball was opened to all players in the world in 1995, only one African footballer has managed to climb into the top 3. It was in 1995, precisely: the Liberian George Weah, then under contract with AC Milan, had even reached the top step of the podium. Since then, nothing.
Monday, December 2, for the sixth time, it is the Argentine Lionel Messi, elected by a world panel of journalists, who won the France-Football Golden Ball. Senegalese Sadio Mané (Liverpool FC) finished in fourth place, behind Dutch team-mate Virgil van Dijk (2e) and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (3e). Egypt's Mohamad Salah (Liverpool FC) was fifth, while Algeria's Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) was tenth. Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) is ranked 20e and Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly (Naples) 24e.
With three players in the top 10, Africa has achieved a good performance. "There were five African players among the 30 nominees. This is a form of recognition for the quality of African football. Today, there is in each of the biggest European clubs at least one African player, observes Ferdinand Coly, former defender of the Lions of Teranga (Senegal). But we can also wonder about the fact that no African has won the Golden Ball since Weah in 1995. "
Push Messi and Ronaldo
In fact, before Sadio Mané, only the Ivorian Didier Drogba, fourth in 2007, and the Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o, fifth in 2009, have approached the summits. Ten years ago, however, Eto'o had won, with FC Barcelona, the Champions League, the Spanish Cup and La Liga – he was then the second best scorer in the championship, with 30 goals.
This year, Mané embodied the best African chances to hustle Messi and Ronaldo, who share the titles since 2008 (six for the Argentinian, five for the Portuguese). A hegemony interrupted only in 2018 by the Croatian Luka Modric. With his club performances (Champions League, European Supercup, co-top Premier League scorer with 22 goals, tied with Salah and Aubameyang) and national team (finalist of the 2019 African Cup of Nations), the Senegalese could have claimed a better ranking. Did not he win, with Liverpool FC, the Champions League?
" He was productive, especially in clubs. Whether Messi is a Golden Ball, it's not surprising that this player is out of the ordinary. But that Mané, who has really done very good things, is not on the podium, it does not seem normal to me " surprised Paul Kessany, the former captain of the Panthers of Gabon. For Ferdinand Coly, "African players also suffer from the fact that their national selections are not among the best in the world, and that can weigh on the vote. FIFA's highest ranked African team is Senegal (22e) far behind the major European or South American teams ".
Lack of African "solidarity"
In terms of collective and individual statistics, Salah and Mahrez could have also claimed a better ranking. The former won the same titles as Mané with Liverpool, but may have paid the CAN missed the Egyptians, eliminated in the round of 16. The second, who is not a scoring machine, became champion of England with Manchester City and champion of Africa with Algeria, a winners improved by the conquest, in particular, of the FA Cup and the League Cup English.
" There are titles, statistics, but also what a player represents in the eyes of the jury. Messi's record is so impressive that it can also influence the votes Adds Paul Kessany. " Presumably there is a form of lobbying for the biggest players, advance Ferdinand Coly. That said, I have always considered that African football is not very supportive. From 2010 to 2016, the coaches and captains of national teams affiliated to FIFA were part of the jury of the Golden Ball, alongside journalists, and I never really felt a great solidarity of Africans. "
A case illustrated by Samuel Eto'o, who said in an interview with AFP, November 7, that "African footballers are not respected" and "appreciated for their true value". Yet the former captain of the Indomitable Lions had made the Belgian Eden Hazard his number one choice for the Golden Ball 2019, without ever mention Mané, Salah or Mahrez …
