A GERMAN SHOULDN'T BE IN BALLON D'OR RACE

Football's greatest individual prize will be awarded soon with Real Madrid's Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo being the hot favourite to win the award for the second year in a row. There are many people within the game suggesting the prize should go to a German, however. Here is why that argument does not hold any real weight.

D. Ray Morton, 27th November 2014.

Ronaldo has, again, been magnificent in the past calendar year and fully deserves the top individual prize in the game

Cristiano Ronaldo has set phenomenal numbers in the past year. As his club Real Madrid achieved Champions League glory, Ronaldo racked up 51 goals in competitive club level matches. He was the top goalscorer in both La Liga (31) and the Champions League (17). Already this season, he has 26 goals in all competitions. These figures are astounding and are the mark of a great individual player in his prime. Why then is there such a push for a German to be awarded football's biggest individual prize this year?

Germany did win the summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil but it was not a team that featured one great individual. It was a collective, a well-oiled unit that got the job done in a football tournament that has lost its gloss in comparison to UEFA's Champions League. Manchester United legend and Ronaldo's former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, pointed out some years ago that the Champions League had overtaken the World Cup as the sports premier competition. The World Cup gets a lot of attention due to its international appeal but it is no longer football's bread and butter. The Champions League is the true testing ground at the highest level.

Lionel Messi is currently the second favourite behind Ronaldo to challenge for the Ballon d'Or. Trophyless at the end of last season, Messi has kicked back into gear this season and has rediscovered his very best form in recent days having scored back-to-back hattricks domestically and in Europe. Despite his injuries and dip in form last season, did any German out-perform him, for club and country without even mentioning Ronaldo? Not likely.

The Ballon d'Or's credibility was dealt a further blow by the exclusion of Luis Suárez in the shortlist for potential winners. Did his silly bite at the World Cup warrant undoing what was an incredible season at Liverpool where he practically dragged an unfancied team single-handedly to near-Premier League glory?

Individually, the Germans don't match up. Philipp Lahm's name has been touted and the recently-retired international does deserve respect but how big an impact does he make? Is he a match-winner? Hardly. How much impact can he possibly have playing at either right-back or as a tidy possession keeper in midfield for Bayern Munich?

Manuel Neuer is another name in the conversation. He only seems to be mentioned because he has been in and around greatness over the past year but has not really provided it himself. Thibaut Courtois' performances for Atlético Madrid were far more impressive at club level and at international level, Neuer did not have much to do for Germany with a good team in front of him. Indeed, he could easily have been sent off in the World Cup final for his flying knee on Gonzalo Higuaín.

Neuer can poke fun at Ronaldo's underwear ads but to say he has had a better year, individually, than the Portuguese is a stretch no pair of pants can take

That leaves maybe Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller's names in the hat but again, how big an impact did they have on their own? Müller is a fine poacher and deserves admiration for consistently delivering despite his lack of technical prowess but he should not be mentioned in the same breath as the Ronaldos and Messis of the football world. Kroos is a great midfielder but is now at Real Madrid and is not exactly their biggest star there. At the Bernabéu, Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos are considered to be key players and Kroos is, for now, merely a good addition to their midfield options.

Were Ronaldo to miss out on the award, FIFA would appear to be engineering their Ballon d'Or award to promote their tournaments, not UEFA's. Messi does not quite deserve it this year despite, and oddly so, being awarded the Golden Ball award for being the World Cup's best player. Neuer, Lahm, Kroos and Müller do not deserve it just for being in a fine international team (and probably not an all-time great one). Give it to Ronaldo. He has been the best and fully deserves it.

GERMANY IN 7TH HEAVEN WITH BRAZIL LEFT HUMILIATED

D. Ray Morton, 9th July 2014.

David Luiz turns on the waterworks after the worst game of his life. Paris St-Germain must be very concerned about having just spent €63m for his services

When making their pre-match predictions for the Brazil vs. Germany semi-final yesterday evening, people talked of Brazil's lack of creativity due to the missing Neymar. The concensus was that Germany would sniff out a narrow victory in a cagey match. The absence of centre-back and captain, Thiago Silva, was something of an afterthought. With Bayern Munich's Dante expected to replace him, it would be fine, they thought, and the main problem would be finding that spark in attack. Luiz Felipe Scolari must have been of the same school of thought and slapped the captain's armband on David Luiz allowing him to have command at the back. What a mistake that turned out to be.

Germany absolutely annihilated the Brazilians in Belo Horizonte, a place-name that will now seem like Hiroshima to native Brazilians. Thomas Müller opened the scoring with easiest of tap-ins from a corner with marking which would have driven a Sunday league manager insane. Bad start.

What happened between the 23rd and 29th minutes of that first half was scarcely believable. Even writing about it now, after the dust has settled, it still seems surreal. The Germans absolutely steamrollered a Brazilian side that had completely lost their discipline. They collapsed quicker than the Twin Towers. Miroslav Klose scored in the 23rd minute, his 16th all-time World Cup goal which saw him beat Ronaldo's record. Now Brazil more than just wilted. They lost the plot entirely. The cheese had slipped off the cracker. Toni Kroos netted two more goals before writers doing their play-by-play reports could catch their breath. Sami Khedira scored another. It was 5-0 and they had not played even half an hour.

Jaws dropped in the stands and the TV cameras flashed towards bawling Brazilian fans suffering a humiliation so great that it made their 1950 World Cup collapse to Uruguay seem like nothing. This was utter, complete devastation. The second half played out like something of a practice match. Manuel Neuer even had to make some decent saves but Brazil were playing like lost souls scattered around the Estádio Mineirão weighted by a sense of doom. As André Schürrle entered the fray, you could tell he was the type of player who would add more damage. Duly he did, scoring in the 69th and 79th minutes, the second goal quite stunning, Brazil left in tatters. Oscar's last minute rebuttal was like giving anaesthetic to someone who had just been put through a meat grinder.

This vile sea creature may be taking his vengeance on mankind after most of the world smirked gleefully at Brazil's demise

How did it all go so wrong? It cannot be blamed on David Luiz alone although he had a true nightmare, the worst game he will ever likely play. Collectively, as soon as the first goal went in, the heads dropped. This has been a strange World Cup for Brazil. Playing in front of their home crowd, the expectation has been massive. Players have routinely shed tears during the playing of the national anthem. Their psychological state bordered on somewhere between fanaticism and obsession. It was too volatile a cocktail without the calming presence of Thiago Silva around to essentially babysit a defence that did not have the bottle for a match of this magnitude.

It is something of a shame that Germany will not even be credited that highly for this unique semi-final triumph. Never has a team enjoyed such a resounding victory at this stage of the World Cup. Though Joachim Löw's side will go up in peoples' estimation, I still do not see them as a team that will tear apart either Argentina or the Netherlands in the final. Indeed, that second semi-final will probably be a world away from what we witnessed last night though making predictions at this stage of an insane World Cup is crazy business.

BRAZIL HAVE A DATE WITH GERMANY BUT AT WHAT COST?

D. Ray Morton, 5th July 2014.

Neymar in agony after being smashed in the lower back by Colombia's Zúñiga

World Cup hosts Brazil defeated Colombia 2-1 in their quarter-final bout last night thanks to a goal each from their centre-backs, Thiago Silva and David Luiz. Luiz's goal was a thing of a beauty, a rocket free-kick from distance but their victory will be overshadowed by the loss of the aforementioned Silva, the captain booked picking up a suspension, and notably Neymar, Brazil's superstar out through injury. They managed to dispatch the Colombians, who many people had fancied, but at quite the cost.

Neymar's injury was a cruel one. Opposition wing-back Juan Camilo Zúñiga smashed the fleet-footed Brazilian into the lower back with a driving knee. Zúñiga may not have been attempting to injure Neymar but he certainly meant to hurt him and his message was duly delivered. The diagnosis is a damaged vertebra with a minimum of a six-week lay-off expected.

They take on the Germans in the semi-final with essentially their two best players missing. Thiago Silva is a vital part of their defence and keeps the often positionally naïve David Luiz in check. All their creativity comes through Neymar and his replacement, whether it be Willian or Bernard, will feel the pressure of having to fill his boots. All of a sudden, Brazil do not seem as threatening any more and Germany can only be delighted at the convenience of all this.

David Luiz, a man obsessed?

RTÉ's Eamon Dunphy described David Luiz's body language as a man "obsessed" after scoring his goal but in all fairness, Luiz deserves praise for what was a genuinely stunning goal, maybe the most spectacular free-kick in World Cup history. Brazil beat a very physical Colombian side and though many have complained about their style of play, it is time to give them some bit of respect now. Colombia had actually been the only consistently impressive team in this tournament, Brazil beat them so what more do people want? It's not as if any of the other remaining teams in the competition have enthralled us. The Dutch had their big win against Spain but have played negatively since. Argentina are a one man team and Belgium have failed to excite despite defending very well.

Next come Germany who put away France in probably the dullest game of the knockout stages so far. Mats Hummels scored the only goal of the game early on and the Germans simply sucked the life out of Didier Deschamps' side to secure a boring-but-effective 1-0 win. Philipp Lahm looked good back in his right full-back position but there is still something of a striker dilemma with Miroslav Klose failing to impress. Perhaps André Schürrle will win a starting spot for the semi-final allowing Thomas Müller to play up front.

Tonight's matches are Argentina vs. Belgium (kick-off at 5pm GMT) and the Netherlands vs. Costa Rica (kick-off 9pm GMT) with the Argentines and Dutch expected to go through. Belgium will provide Messi and co. with a tough challenge, however, though it is hard to see the game underdogs of Costa Rica shocking Louis van Gaal and his troops.

WORLD CUP TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR

D. Ray Morton, 28th June 2014.

With the World Cup group stages having been completed and the second round about to kick-off today (with games of Brazil vs. Chile and Colombia vs. Uruguay), here's our World Cup XI from what we have seen so far. As it has been an attacking tournament, our selection is top heavy with many offensive players appearing in a 3-4-3 formation. Three at the back is in vogue in the competition, with many teams opting to do away with the 4-2-3-1 structure that has been so popular in the last few years.

 Very much an all-out attack theme with this XI

Goalkeeper

Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico/Free Agent)

The Mexican with the wild mane is our choice between the sticks. Ochoa, who was relegated from the French top flight with Ajaccio last season, had an incredible solo performance when Mexico faced Brazil. Thanks to his string of fine saves, the host nation were held to a 0-0 draw. An honourable mention goes to Chile's Claudio Bravo who has been a solid performer so far and was our second choice for this spot.

Centre-backs

Diego Godín (Uruguay/Atlético Madrid)

Picking up where he left his club form at the end of last season, Godín has been immense for an otherwise Luis Suárez-reliant Uruguay in their three games so far. The Atlético defender has been superb and scored a thumping header against Italy to knock them out of the competition and allow Los Charrúas to get into the last sixteen.

Rafael Márquez (Mexico/Léon)

The legendary Mexico captain has been a steady figure for his nation's side and has been a stalwart at the back as they advanced through Group A which contained Brazil, Croatia and Cameroon. Captain of Mexico for three World Cups in a row, the 35 year-old is still a composed presence and takes care of business allowing players ahead of him to play fluid, inventive football.

Jan Vertonghen (Belgium/Tottenham)

Belgium's defence has been rather stingy so far, a rarity in a competition where most other teams have been a tad leaky at the back. Vertonghen may not have had one of the best seasons at Tottenham, but he's been a calm, assured figure at the back for de Rode Duivels. Although he's been played at left-back for his country due to their lack of natural full-backs, we have slotted him into the left side of our back three thanks to his preference for the role at club level.

Defensive midfielder

Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona)

For Argentina, Lionel Messi's brilliance has been grabbing all the fanfare but many have overlooked Mascherano's steadiness and reliability as he keeps their attack-minded midfield balanced. Mascherano is incredibly selfless. He works entirely for his team and has no notion of catching the highlight reel or making headlines. Without his inclusion, Argentina's not-yet-convincing World Cup campaign may well have collapsed by now.

Wide midfielders

Mathieu Valbuena (France/Marseille)

Though he was rested in France's third group match after they had already gone through, the diminutive French wide-man has been terrific in his two appearances. Always willing to get on the ball and do something useful with it, Valbuena uses his small stature to confuse cumbersome opponents with his delightful first touch and wonderful bursts of acceleration. He has been a great role model for smaller, trickier players and will continue to be a joy to watch as France gather momentum should they make themselves serious final contenders.

Arjen Robben (Netherlands/Bayern Munich)

With Valbuena on the right, we have put Robben out left although in this World Cup, the phrase "free role" best sums up where he might turn up on the pitch which is just about anywhere in the final third. Teaming up with Robin van Persie, Robben danced his way through the group stages with three goals, an assist and three man of the match awards. A stunning achievement from a player who, earlier last season, was expected to be offloaded by his club coach Pep Guardiola. If Robben can continue this fine form and keep excelling at club level, he could make himself a genuine Balon d'Or contender next winter.

Attacking midfielder

James Rodríguez (Colombia/Monaco)

James (pronounced "Ha-mez") has really come into fruition as Colombia's top player in the absence of star striker Radamel Falcao. The creative midfielder has been on fire so far with three goals, two assists and two man of the match awards. He really is coming into his own and could go on to become Colombia's greatest international player ever, eclipsing the legendary Carlos Valderramma. Colombia are well capable of knocking out Uruguay and should make very tough quarter-final opponents against either Brazil or Chile, especially with this fellow in their line-up.

James Rodríguez has been superb for Colombia and is the tournament's breakout star

Attackers

Thomas Müller (Germany/Bayern Munich)

With Miroslav Klose's international career winding down having levelled Ronaldo's all-time World Cup goalscoring record, Germany have found themselves a new Mister World Cup in Müller, an out-and-out goal poacher in the same vein as the legendary German striker, Gerd Müller. The Bayern Munich winger/striker is a true no nonsense player. He has no box of tricks, fancy gimmicks or sleeve tattoos. He just has instinct in and around the penalty area which gives Germany a huge boost not having many other attacking options. His four goals have allowed die Mannschaft to ease through their group and as their momentum gathers, their fans will start to believe that this can finally be their year having not won a major international competition since Euro '96.

Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)

Well, he would have to be in it, wouldn't he? Leo has been amazing so far and has done his very best Maradona impersonation by single-handedly dragging Argentina along, scoring four goals and picking up three man of the match awards in the process. If anything, should he keep this form up and hand the Albiceleste the World Cup, he will have surpassed Diego and will stand alone on top of football's Mount Olympus. He is not helped by the injury of Sergio Agüero but the rest of the team doing just about enough, they are capable of going all the way and how they would love that on rival Brazilian soil.

Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona)

A third Barcelona player, which is a little surprising considering their end of season was thought to be a flop. Maybe they were saving themselves for the World Cup after all. In fairness, Neymar has been the host nation's best player up until now. They have flattered to deceive so far with a controversial win over Croatia, a draw against Mexico and a routine win against the awful Cameroon. Neymar has scored four goals and has taken a huge amount of responsibility in a high pressure situation. Though he has looked awkward at Camp Nou, he is very much in his element in this Brazil side and everything goes through him. Still, many tough matches lie ahead, including tonight's bout against Chile. That will be a good testing ground to see whether Neymar becomes a legend or merely another myth.

DUTCH, ITALIANS AND GERMANS MOST IMPRESSIVE SO FAR

D. Ray Morton, 18th June 2014.

Germany's Thomas Müller's hat-trick against Portugal makes him top goalscorer and brings his total World Cup goals to eight, now level with the legendary Diego Maradona

Since our last post about Italy's victory over a game but predictable England, we have seen every World Cup team in action now. We have seen Belgium, many peoples' "dark horses" to go far in tournament. We watched as Germany impressed against a self-destructive Portuguese side unable to get the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo. France and Karim Benzema strutted their stuff against violent minnows Honduras and Argentina, thanks to a moment of magic from none other than Lionel Messi, put away a resolute Bosnia & Herzegovina side. Mexico and Brazil were the first two teams to play their second match yesterday and the hosts/favourites failed to impress in a nil-all draw.

Having seen everyone, the three most impressive teams have been Italy, the Netherlands (who thrashed champions Spain) and Germany with Thomas Müller in top poaching form. Italy deserve credit in that they took care of England despite missing Gianluigi Buffon in goal and having to field a back four that had question marks hanging over it. The likes of Matteo Darmian and Gabriel Paletta have been steady, however. There is no doubt that the Netherlands' hammering of Spain has been the stand-out performance of the competition and Germany, though Portugal really were masters of their own undoing, were firm and incisive.

Brazil are a team that should be worrying at this point. Mexico managed to hold them to a scoreless draw thanks to a fine performance from goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa but the seleção were hardly unlucky in their stalemate. Fred had another poor performance and this time there was no cheap award of a penalty. A matter of concern is that the only real back-up for him is former Manchester City flop, Jô. Provided a team can keep Neymar occupied out left, Brazil are offering very little in attack at the moment and must be counting their lucky stars that they were handed such an easy victory in their opening match thanks to some shady refereeing. Things will have to be shaken up and serious consideration must be given to starting the likes of Willian and Fernandinho, players who could offer more creativity than Paulinho, Luiz Gustavo or Ramires.

Tonight's games see Louis van Gaal's Netherlands against Australia (5pm GMT), Spain with a chance to bounce back against Chile (8pm GMT) and Croatia's chance of redemption against a dull Cameroon side (11pm GMT). Vicente del Bosque's defending champions are hanging in there and need a massive performance against Chile. Though many have them written off after their embarrassing opening defeat, they have the quality within their squad to fight back and they could still take that second place position. Assuming Brazil win their group, a repeat of the 2013 Confederations Cup final of Brazil versus Spain would be a mouth-watering second round prospect. Many expected they would not meet until the tournament decider on July 13th but now it is looking like neither team are good enough to win this thing outright.