Schweinsteiger, Not Ribery, Should Have Represented Bayern on UEFA Shortlist

Ever since 2008, when Cristiano Ronaldo won both the old Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year gong, the Portugal forward and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi—who has won pretty much everything else ever since—have been ever-present on the shortlists for the biggest awards in world football.

In most instances the two have been joined by one of Messi’s Barcelona teammates—either Xavi Hernandez or Andres Iniesta—and last August, Iniesta managed to disrupt the Ronaldo-Messi duopoly when he was voted UEFA Best Player in Europe by a panel of journalists at the 2012-13 Champions League Group Stage Draw.

At this season’s draw, which will be held August 29 in Monaco, the two will be accompanied on the stage by Franck Ribery as the media contingent in the auditorium conducts a live vote to determine whose name is inscribed on the trophy.

Ribery, who helped Bayern Munich to a historic treble in 2012-13, came through the preliminary round of voting in one of the top three positions, meaning he was included on the shortlist for the latest instalment of the Best Player in Europe award, which was revealed on Tuesday by UEFA.

In their release, the governing body also explained how the remainder of the top-10 list was filled out, saying “each journalist provided a list of their top-five players, with the first receiving five points, the second four points and so on.”

Just missing out on the shortlist was Ribery’s Bayern teammate Arjen Robben, who came fourth, and fellow Champions League Final participants Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Thomas Muller (Bayern) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern) rounded out the top seven.

Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain) and Robin Van Persie (Manchester United) came in places eight thru 10.

What’s instantly surprising about the list is that Schweinsteiger—perhaps Bayern’s most important player in the most dominating season in their history—was not only beat out by Dortmund rival Lewandowski but by fellow teammates Ribery, Robben and Muller as well.

Among Bayern’s best passers of the ball, it was the 29-year-old who often sprung the counterattacks on which Ribery, Robben and Muller feasted. And his defensive contributions (he completed nearly four successful tackles per Champions League match last season) were key in reversing the direction of the play and keeping Bayern on the front foot.

Not that Ribery doesn’t deserve recognition for a season in which he scored 10 Bundesliga goals and added 14 assists, but even in a purely offensive comparison with Schweinsteiger, he only managed three more league goals than his midfield teammate and actually scored one fewer in the Champions League.

He also stands a decent chance at winning the award.

While the FIFA prize, which merged with the Ballon d’Or in 2010, hasn’t gone beyond Ronaldo or Messi since Kaka was elected in 2007, the Best Player in Europe panel showed last year it was willing to go a bit more rogue when it crowned Iniesta.

They may do so again later this month, especially if they wish to recognize Bayern’s exceptional season.

The thing is, they would have been better doing so with Schweinsteiger than Ribery.

Follow @jerradpeters