Ballon d'Or 2007: What about Cristiano Ronaldo?

                                                                  France Football has enlisted the 50 nominees for the Ballon d'Or award with some hint of predispositions. Now, more prevalent as the World Footballer of the Year award, this prestigious accolade will be up for grabs for some of the most ingenuine and craft players of the past season.

With no circumscription of nationalities, this years award has drawn in players from all corners of the world ranging from Mexico to Japan and different Asian and American leagues. Big names like Kaka, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo are the front runners for the award, but the likes of Beckham and Cannavaro haven't been ruled out just yet. Beckham has been,of course, the cynosure of Real's title winning season last time and Cannavaro's defensive duties at the back was unparallel.

But who will take the trophy home?

Well, the panel of juries contain 50 renowned journalists across Europe .Here's the matter of slight bias- Anonymous reports indicate that Kaka and Messi are media favorites for the award  

If the journalists take account of the players' performance in Europe, no doubt that Kaka will have the last smile because he single-handedly won Milan last season's title with a staggering 11 goals. His solo performance against United was the highlight of Milan's Champions League glory. But on the contrary, his league performances was just enough to see Milan sneak into the top four of Serie A.

Argentine whizz kid Lionel Messi had a tremendous La Liga campaign last time out, giving his peak performance and winning matches for his team.Though suffering defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Barcelona had glimmering hopes of clinching a hattrick of titles. All were down to Messi's canny footworks and artifice which are worthy of comparison with the great Maradonna.  Unluckily, Real's relentless efforts were too strong for Barca and they had to be content with a marginal second place finish.

But what about Ronaldo?
 

 After a fall out with Rooney during the World Cup, he patched up with him and their outwitting combination of tenacious and decoying football posed a major threat to all the rivals of United. But it was all about Ronaldo's goal scoring flair and eye catching freestlyes that became his counterparts' worst nightmare. Second top scorer in the league, Ronaldo was unargueably the linchpin behind United's vintage performances last season. His performance in Europe was also laudable,though only second to Kaka.

So, the logic is fuzzy and roundabout. From a neutral football fan's viewpoint, Ronaldo deserves to be awarded the Golden Ball, but if one prioritize the pride of European football, Kaka has the upper hand rather. I simply don't know how to put Messi, coz he doesn't deserve to be in the third place.

All that said, i hope that the journalists don't make narrow-minded decisions and honor the right man for the right cause.

Before I close, I must also vent my disappointment at not seeing either Rio or Vidic on the list—whereas Kolo Toure made it.

Ryan Giggs wasn't at his best last season; Rio or Vidic could well have taken his place.

There's also the conspicuous exclusion of the Romeo of the Old Lady of Turin—Alessandro Del Piero, who culminated his goal-scoring record for Juventus last season.