Captains, coaches and media make a Messi of it

Lionel Messi is the best player in the world right now. Not many people, Cristiano Ronaldo fan club aside, would argue with that. 60 goals for club and country in 2010 including twelve braces, five hat-tricks and a memorable quadruple against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final says more than enough. His control on the ball, pace, passing, movement and all-round ability is second to none. But he should not have won the 2010 FIFA Ballon D'or award.

Why on earth not, you may ask? Well, because the award (slightly rehashed this year to merge the long-running Ballon D'or with FIFA's own World Player of the Year award) is meant to commemorate the footballing year. It is the player of the year 2010 who should have received the accolade. And what are the most important and memorable footballing moments of a calendar year? Each country has their own individual leagues and cups of course, but worldwide it is the UEFA Champions League that is best remembered. And of course, once every four years, 2010 being one of them, there is the small matter of the World Cup. These are the tournaments that stick in the worldwide footballing conscience for years.

Cast your mind back to 2002. The original Ronaldo led Brazil to World Cup triumph and rightfully claimed the personal honour for himself. Zinedine Zidane scored that wonder-volley at Hampden Park to land Real Madrid their ninth European Cup as well. These things stick in the memory. 2006? Fabio Cannavaro led Italy to World Cup glory and claimed the award. 2008? Cristiano Ronaldo had his incredible 42-goal season at Manchester United as they claimed the Champions League title, again he correctly won the award. 2009? Messi was the key figure as Barcelona won no fewer than six trophies, and the Argentine netted in both the Champions League and World Club Cup finals. He rightfully claimed the award.

But this year, where was Messi when Jose Mourinho's Internazionale shut up shop at the Nou Camp to prevent the Blaugrana from going through to the Champions League final? Where was Messi when Argentina were crushed 4-0 by Joachim Lowe's effervescent young Germany team in the World Cup quarter-final? As incredible as he is, the diminutive no.10 didn't quite do the business in the two tournaments that really mattered last year.

So who did deserve to win it? Well, the other two contenders in the final shortlist of three, Messi's clubmates Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta both could have a better claim. Always mentioned together due to their similar playing style and near-telepathic communication on the pitch, the Catalan duo were integral to Spain's first ever World Cup triumph, passing every team in the tournament to death with Iniesta smashing home the winner deep into extra time of the final. They have also contributed to Barcelona's success at league level, and while they play a different role to Messi, their passing, movement and creativity is just as integral to Barca as Messi's goals are. When people think back to 2010 in a few years time, they will remember Xavi and Iniesta's World Cup magnificence more than Messi's failure to score at all in South Africa.

Personally, I feel there are two other candidates even more worthy than any of the Barcelona trio who were in the running. And don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of Barcelona, I'm sat in my room with a Xavi Hernandez poster and a diagram/article of Barcelona's formation featuring all three of the players in question on the wall next to me! But both Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito should have been in the running for the award. The UEFA Champions League is the ultimate tournament in world football today. It takes thirteen games to win it, as opposed to the seven of the World Cup, and on the whole, the quality of football is undoubtedly much higher. Milito scored the goals that won Inter the final at the Bernabeu in May. Not only that but he scored the clinching goals in Serie A and the Coppa Italia as Mourinho's team claimed an unprecedented title. He should surely have been in the running, and at least in FIFA's World XI of the year. But no, not a single international captain, coach or media representative gave the Argentine striker a vote.

The bigger case still rests with Sneijder. The Dutch maestro did get some votes, notably from England captain Rio Ferdinand and Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, but not enough to make the final three. Yet it was he who was the key player, the trequartista that opened up defences across the continent to deliver the Nerazzurri's first European title since 1965. Not only that but he led a Holland team, scarcely fancied at the start of the World Cup, to the final itself, scoring five goals along the way and playing with a real verve and swagger not seen in many other players today. They lost the final, and the team's dirty tactics gave them a bad name, but Sneijder could not be blamed for that. The combination of star player in Inter's treble and leading Holland to their first World Cup final since the 1970s should surely have been enough to make him the player of 2010. Or at least make the final three.

Hats off to Lionel Messi, he is a true footballing genius and will hopefully be around winning trophies for many years to come. But when I think back to 2010 a few years down the line, and I'm sure I won't be alone, it will be the flying Dutchman, Wesley Sneijder, and his star role in both Champions League and World Cup that will stick in my memory.