France Football has released the complete Ballon d’Or results. How did ŠPORT.sk and other journalists vote? – SPORT.SK

today 18:00 | Several days have passed since the announcement of this year’s Ballon d’Or results, but France Football, the organizer of the poll, has only recently published the full voting results. Who did journalists from individual countries vote for and who did ŠPORT.sk vote for, the only one from Slovakia to vote in the poll? PHOTO: SEE WHO VOTED HOW IN THE GOLDEN BALL 2022 >> The Golden Ball is the most prestigious individual award in football. It is awarded every year for the best player of the past 12 months (August 2021 – July 2022). ŠPORT.sk voted again for Slovakia in the last edition. While last year the representatives of up to 170 countries decided, this year only journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking had the right to vote. Voting closed at the beginning of September. “Unlike previous years of the poll, this time the primary criterion was individual performances. Team achievements and trophies were secondary criteria. France Football changed it after public criticism. The tertiary criterion remained a sporting approach and a sense of fair play,” says Erik Farkaš, who voted for ŠPORT.sk. The wording on the ŠPORT.sk ticket was almost identical to the official results, but in a different order. The only exception was Sadio Mané, while we preferred Kylian Mbappé. How did ŠPORT.sk vote? 1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
3. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC)
4. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
5. Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) “Karim Benzema left no room for controversy as to who deserved the Ballon d’Or last season. He won dominantly, thanks to his performance and influence on Real Madrid’s success, he had no equal competitor. With the captain’s armband, he led the ‘White Ballet’ to trophies in the Champions League and La Liga, he was the top scorer in both competitions. He decided important matches. He eliminated PSG and Manchester City from the Champions League with three goals, and Chelsea scored four. Even another season with more than 50 goals was not enough for Robert Lewandowski to win the coveted trophy. The year before last, he was the best, but France Football controversially did not award the prize to anyone due to the pandemic. He was the best last year as well, but Lionel Messi surprisingly won the Ballon d’Or. The Pole had another exceptional year, lacking Champions League success compared to Karim Benzema. Mohamed Salah was the best in the world in the first half of the season. Had he maintained his performance, he could have been the second winner from Africa (the first being George Weah in 1995). He finished fifth in the poll, significantly behind the second Sadio Mané. In comparison, Liverpool’s wingers have played the same number of games, with Mohamed Salah scoring 8 goals and 11 more assists. He was better individually, the voters took more into account Sadio Mané’s contribution to the team. English Premier League Player of the Year Kevin De Bruyne was key to Manchester City’s successful campaign in the world’s toughest league. He has traditionally carried the ideas of Pep Guardiola’s genius onto the pitch, and has also increased his production. The creative virtuoso has had the most goal-scoring season of his career. After the arrival of Erling Haaland, he can attack the record in the number of assists in the current year and finish even higher in the poll. Kylian Mbappé had the best numbers, 49 goals and 31 assists are breathtaking. He achieved the majority ‘only’ in Ligue 1, but teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar did not come close to these numbers. He also led PSG to success in the Champions League, his goals leading to the elimination of Real Madrid before Karim Benzema took over. In the end, he ended up outside the TOP 5. Since a sporting approach is also a criterion, this factor could help Sadio Mané and harm Kylian Mbappé. As long as he stays at PSG, he can probably only think about the Golden Ball if he succeeds in the Champions League or the World Cup,” adds Erik Farkaš. ŠPORT.sk voted in the Golden Ball 2022 poll as the only medium from Slovakia.