Not since George Weah won the Ballon d’Or France Football in 1995 has an African been ranked so high.
For 27 years, the podium of the Ballon d’Or (BO) France Football has stubbornly refused to accept African footballers. Neither the Ivorian Didier Drogba (4th in 2007) nor Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o (5th in 2009) nor Mohamed Salah of Egypt (6th in 2018) nor the Algerian Riyad Mahrez (7th in 2016), have managed to snatch it.
Present four times since 2017 on the list of the 30 best players in the world and at the foot of the podium in 2019, the Senegalese international Sadio Mane has just written a new page of history of African football. The 30-year-old striker came second in the ranking of the 66th edition of this prestigious individual award at a ceremony held Monday night at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.
With Liverpool, the player trained at the Academy Generation Foot, located on the outskirts of Dakar, won the English Cup and the League Cup, finished second in the Premier League, just one point behind Manchester City and was a finalist in the Champions League. In these competitions, he scored a total of 23 goals.
As a key player in Senegal’s national team, Mane has offered his country the first African Cup of Nations in its history (Cameroon 2021). The triumphant journey of the Lions was notably marked by the current Bayern Munich player, who scored 3 goals and 2 assists. Like his team, the metronome of Aliou Cisse, the coach of the Senegalese team, has increased in speed over the games until the apotheosis against Egypt, winner seven times in the event.
And the icing on an already crunchy cake, the African Player of the Year in 2019 and 2022 was awarded the first ever Socrates Award. Former captain of the Brazilian team and Corinthians, this player who died in 2011, was distinguished during his career by his commitment to the “Corinthian democracy” in the heart of the military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1980s. When he played there, his club Corinthians decided to vote on all team decisions.
This new award, which bears the name of the Brazilian legend, was given to the Senegalese for his commitment to “societal and charitable projects.” In Bambali, his native village in southern Senegal, Sadio Mane contributes to improving the living conditions of the inhabitants with, among other things, the construction of a hospital, a high school and a mosque with his own funds. With his partners, he has also provided the locality with a gas station and a 4G antenna. Wearing a blue African suit at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, the Senegalese international said: “I am really happy to be here even if sometimes I am a little shy. I am happy with what I do for all these people back home in Senegal.
Alone in his world
Not surprisingly, the Frenchman of Algerian origin Karim Benzema (34 years old) won the award. Highly recommended! The crowning of the Real Madrid and Les Bleus center-forward was an obvious choice, even for his competitors. “Karim deserves the Ballon d’Or. I sincerely think so,’ said Sadio Mane on October 12, after Bayern Munich’s 5-0 win in Plzen on the third day of the Champions’ League group stage.
At the peak of his career, the Olympique Lyonnais-trained player guided the Merengue to a 14th Champions League final victory and a 35th Spanish championship title. Captain of a team inhabited by something strange, often hit but not sunk, Benzema has dazzled the soccer world with his class in the game, his determination in all circumstances and his clinical efficiency around the penalty area. The successor to Lionel Messi in the French national team’s trophy cabinet has also won the Nations League.
The Ballon d’Or France Football, created in 1956, distinguished Europeans until 1994. The following season, when it was finally opened to players of all nationalities, the trophy was awarded to Liberia’s George Weah (Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan).
For this 2022 edition, the award criteria have been changed. The past sports season, and no longer the calendar year, is now taken into account in the votes. The jury of journalists has been reduced to 100 voters representing the top nations in the FIFA rankings. Finally, the winner is chosen on the basis of individual and collective performance, record of achievement, but also class and fair play.
CP/te/fss/abj/APA