The FIFA World Player of the Year Lunacy
By: Martha | October 11th, 2007
FIFA’s nomination list for their World Player of the Year Award is so laughable that, really, it’s difficult to even get too worked up about it. For me, it’s less the absences that make it so absurd than it is two little words that are there: “Patrick” and “Vieira.” This is the same Patrick Vieira who, for those among you who don’t follow Inter as closely as you should, played in just 20 Serie A matches last season (28 in all competitions), and has put in a grand total of 68 minutes so far this year, all of them in a single Coppa Italia match. Yes indeed, he’s been inspirational, on and off the pitch — definitely made a lot more of a contribution than the big Swede with whom he plays, or that thumb-sucking Roman who scored all those goals. (This is me, rolling my eyes.)
Looking at the list, it’s obvious the selectors are either having a laugh, or watch only the EPL and the World Cup, and decided to base about 95% of their nominations on those two things alone. (Apparently neither La Liga or Serie A are available on cable in FIFA’s secret, underwater lair, which is equipped only with DVDs of the World Cup Final and everything Alicia Silverstone has ever done.)
No matter how indignant everyone gets, though, when the time comes to hand out the precious trophy, they’ll have a big, posh party, and give it to someone who (mostly) deserves it and cleans up well for pictures — like Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaka — and everyone will forget about who was left out. Then, next year (as long as the token “V” name isn’t “Vieri”), we’ll go through the entire process again, complete with the fury about why the hell anyone cares. I mean, what else are awards for, if not bitching?
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