Manuel Neuer Could Save FIFA World Cup's Relevance in Ballon d'Or Vote

Since its inception in 1930, the World Cup has been widely regarded as football's greatest prize. Since 1956, and especially since it was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2010, the Ballon d'Or has similarly been considered the greatest individual achievement in world football.

There is an increasingly unignorable inconsistency, however, with the results of Ballon d'Or voting and of international football performance. In 2010, Lionel Messi was awarded the first FIFA Ballon d'Or despite failing to score a single goal at the World Cup in South Africa before Argentina were humiliated by Germany in the quarter-finals.

And now, as the awarding of the 2014 Ballon d'Or approaches, Cristiano Ronaldo is favored by many to take the honor. His Portugal were unable to advance from their group, with the Real Madrid winger drawing a dud against Manuel Neuer's Germany and failing to deliver for his country in any decisive way.

It is ironic that FIFA now organizes both the Ballon d'Or and the World Cup, yet the results of the former seem to undermine the latter.

If Ronaldo is honored this year as Messi was in 2010, it begs the question: Is the World Cup still relevant as a top-tier competition?

UEFA President Michel Platini seems to be concerned with the implications of awarding Ronaldo or Messi with the 2014 Ballon d'Or. Speaking to beIN Sports (h/t AS), he asserted that a German player should win the award following the Nationalmannschaft's historic World Cup final victory in Brazil this summer:

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The Ballon d'Or tends to go to a player who has performed exceptionally well at the World Cup, someone who won it, so this year it should be for a Germany player. It was always that way until 2010 when Leo Messi won despite having a fairly average World Cup, so nothing is for certain.

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Platini has a point. And among the six Germans (Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer) nominated for the award, there are some viable alternatives to the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly that has dominated the voting in recent years.

Muller had a great World Cup and won both the silver boot and silver ball, but he wasn't decisive in the latter stages of the tournament. Gotze was in the final, but otherwise struggled and rarely played in the knockout stages.

Neither player can come close to comparing with the club season goals records of Ronaldo or Messi. If a German wins the award, it will have to be a non-attacking player.

Philipp Lahm is a good alternative, especially just months after his international retirement. If he wins the Ballon d'Or, it will be considered more of a "lifetime achievement" award.

Many parallels can be drawn between Lahm and Xavi circa 2010: Both were perhaps more successful and individually important a year before, but both were instrumental in winning the World Cup, be it in South Africa or Brazil. Xavi didn't win in 2010, though, and it's hard to see a defender, Lahm, taking the honor when the Spaniard finished third in voting four years ago.

Kroos is an option especially after his heroism against Brazil in the semifinal. Schweinsteiger as well considering the yeoman's effort he gave in the final. But neither is particularly flashy; neither has stuck out and made a real stamp on the game.

That leaves Neuer, who truly is an alternative. The Germany No. 1 shut out Messi's Argentina and Ronaldo's Portugal over 210 minutes of football at the World Cup, his heroics ensuring Joachim Low's first trophy as head coach of the Nationalmannschaft. It ended a 24-year spell without lifting the World Cup, and an 18-year overall trophy drought for Germany, who also became the first non-South American side to lift the World Cup in South America.

Although his position has typically been a quieter one that offers less of a stage to showcase one's abilities than any attacking role, Neuer has managed to redefine the role of the goalkeeper, offering his unique take on the position.

Whereas Messi at times looks to be the spitting image of Diego Maradona, it's hard to look back at football history and find a goalkeeper who plays the game like Neuer.

Acclaimed B/R commentator Janusz Michallik recently made a rather apt comparison to the legendary Franz Beckenbauer, a marvel considering that the retired legend is considered by many to be one of the top three footballers in the history of the game and that he was a defender, not a goalkeeper.

But indeed, Neuer plays his goalkeeping position much like a sweeper. His tackle on Algeria's Islam Slimani in the World Cup round of 16 was a perfect example.

Neuer is the best goalkeeper a defender could ask for, the kind who doesn't need to be asked to come out of his goal. He's incredibly decisive and rarely ever misjudges a play, especially in the games that matter most. Consider, for example, his punch-clearance as he and Gonzalo Higuain collided while chasing down the ball in the World Cup final. A split-second later and Neuer could have been sent off with a possible penalty to Argentina.

The number of clear goalscoring opportunities he's snuffed out before they materialized is staggering.

No goalkeeper in today's game can come off his line with the decisive effect of Neuer. None can accurately throw the ball well over the half-way line.

He's revolutionized the position, defining the term "sweeper-keeper." Not to mention, few have ball skills or reflexes that can compare with the Germany No. 1.

As great as Ronaldo has been as a forward in 2014, the case can be made that Neuer has been even better as a goalkeeper. Squawka today produced a good summary of the attributes that make Neuer a unique quantity as a footballer, with some rather stunning footage.

Ballon d'Or voting unfortunately is conducted by a mix of international coaches and captains, and members of the global media who often are swayed by popular opinion or seduced by flair. For what it's worth, Neuer has produced some vanity moments in 2014, most notably this flicked pass that impressed Gareth Bale and Eintracht Frankfurt manager Thomas Schaaf, among others, but may not be enough to win the 28-year-old the award.

Regardless, Neuer represents FIFA's best chance for the World Cup to remain relevant as a decider of the quality of individual footballers.

The German stopper was not only decisive at all the right times in Brazil, over the course of the year he's managed to change the game forever. If that isn't enough to win the Ballon d'Or, what is?

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