The former Argentine player also mentioned that Robert Lewandowski’s great year may make the award “perfectly debatable.”
Former soccer player and former coach Jorge Valdano said this Thursday, at a conference at CEU Cardenal Herrera University, that it seems good to him that the Ballon d’Or has been won by his compatriot Leo Messi, because “it is the greatest pure talent.”
“I think it’s the greatest pure talent, but it’s perfectly debatable compared to Robert Lewandowski’s year. When we talk about an individual award in a collective sport we are always on the verge of committing an injustice. I think it’s good that Messi won it, so that we are going to fool ourselves, “Valdano said.
The Argentine spoke at a conference at the Valencian university about his career in the field of sports and sports management in the cycle of conferences on sports management and journalism of the CEU Empresa Forum for students of communication, sports and management and business management of the University.
During the conference, in which he answered the questions of the attendees, Valdano said that he always talks about five great geniuses in the world of football: Alfredo Di Stéfano, Pelé, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona and Leo Messi, which, to your liking, is the latest genius.
About Messi, the Argentine explained that he is the last “amphibian player: half street, half academy” and that Maradona was the last stray. “From Messi the street ended, now the players are academics who are taught in a very sophisticated way to train them from every point of view, personal, sporting and technical,” he added.
“The academy makes mediocre players much better, but it doesn’t help the different ones. Everything has to be fast, one or two touches, and that punishes the differential player. They don’t let us feint, pause, face… Now we see very good players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappé, but they don’t have the magic of those players who improvised solutions with extraordinary ability ”, he reflected.
After the conference, the former Argentine player pointed out that “Karim Benzema he is a superior talent, I would not have complained at all if he had lifted the Ballon d’Or, because also he has evolved a lot in recent years and has become the total player ”.
Regarding the first Spanish women’s Ballon d’Or for Alexia Putellas, Valdano said that women are revolutionizing the world of football and he was really happy that Alexia has won this award.
“I met her because I interviewed her for my program ‘Universo Valdano’, she was the first soccer player I interviewed and I was very excited that she won a Ballon d’Or, we already have a Ballon d’Or from a man, by Luis Suárez, and now that of a brand new woman like Alexia ”. (D)
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