Wednesday 3 December 2008
Frank Ribery : I Deserved Better In Ballon d'Or Rank !
France forward Franck Ribery admits that he is feeling a little deflated after registering only 16th place in the running for the 2008 Ballon d'Or.
The Bayern Munich prompter finishes 2008 in a better position than he did in 2007; with a Bundesliga crown, a Pokal victory and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League secure.
Last year however, Ribery finished seventh for the Ballon d'Or reckoning, despite Bayern's poor showing in the Bundesliga and lack of Champions League berth.
The former Galatasaray man admits frustration and bemusement at this year's outcome, giving his increase in on-field success this time around.
He told L'Equipe: "Frankly, I am disappointed by my ranking. I should have deserved better.
"Last year, I finished seventh having played six months for Marseille and six months at Bayern, without having won any titles.
"Here, I am 16th in the list at the end of a massive season with Bayern. We were champions of Germany, won the national cup and reached the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup.
"I also picked up a number of individual awards, for example the best player in the Bundesliga. I achieved something amazing but you have to accept the verdict."
Cristiano Ronaldo added to his golden year by carrying away the top honour, with Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres also in the shake-up.
Ribery concedes that Ronaldo was a worthy winner, but he admits to being mystified at the exclusion of some of his playing colleagues, both for Bayern and Les Bleus.
He concluded: "Personally, I would have voted for him.
"He has been very strong with Manchester United and above all he won the Champions League."
"Seeing Karim Benzema with no vote, that is amazing too.
"Indeed he has not won the Champions League, but could you imagine no vote.
"Luca Toni didn't get any vote too. However he has scored almost as many goals with Bayern as Cristiano Ronaldo did with Manchester United in 2008."
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