An Open-Ended Letter to FIFA Protesting the 2011 Ballon D'Or Nominations

Dear Mr. Blatter,

While I will never respect you or your politics, I do realize that you still (perhaps unjustly) continue to call the shots for what is perhaps the most world's most influential sporting institution. Thus, though it pains me with every word I type, I realize that if I want to adequately address the matter I will soon divulge, it must come to you.

Unfair world, and all that hob-knob. But enough of that. As you most likely said to Jack Warner and Mohammed bin Hammam, let's get down to business.

Mr. Blatter, I have some serious qualms about the recently-released list of nominees for the 2011 Ballon d'Or.

While I of course realize that Lionel Messi is the out-and-out favorite to complete his personal treble where this trophy is concerned (the Argentine won in 2009 and 2010,) thanks in large part to a phenomenal 2010-11 season with FC Barcelona, I don't understand why you must make his path to glory so straightforward, so to speak.

I have a problem with the group of players he is running against for the world's top honor.

You have selected 23 nominees (Messi included), each of whom possesses a purported chance of bagging the Ballon d'Or. So, my question is, at which point in the proceedings did you fleece your senses and throw all logic to the wind? At what point did personal popularity and charm outweigh statistical performance?

You maintain that the award is voted upon by the captains and coaches of international teams, along with a selection of journalists.

Now, this may be a stretch, Mr. Blatter, but bear with me. How is it that you allowed such a heavy emphasis upon Spanish football to tint this year's proceedings? I realize that the fine folks at France Football magazine, who began the Ballon d'Or ceremony years ago, get their say, but couldn't you at least try to talk some sense into some of these decisions?

I must admit that a bulk of these nominees annoy me as thoroughly as both yourself, Mr. Blatter, and the cacophonous vuvuzela that took the world by storm in 2010.

Sometimes I wonder why you didn't grace that harrowing horn with the '10 Ballon d'Or trophy, considering as how you are kindred souls. Annoying, cheap and deserving no place in the footballing lexicon.

Of those 23 players listed, 14 currently play their trade in Spain.

Now, while that league can puff its chest out and claim it is the best in the world, seeing as Barcelona have now won two of the last three editions of the Champions League, and Real Madrid have cemented their stature to start 2011-12 as a genuine contender for next May's Champions League crown. 

Each of those 14 players (it would be 16 if we included Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero, as both played with Atletico Madrid in 2010-11 before sealing summer moves to Inter Milan [Serie A] and Manchester City [Premier League] respectively) plays for either FC Barcelona (five) or Real Madrid (nine).

Fine, that seems fair to me. Real Madrid were runners-up to the La Liga title last season, even smashing their way to the Copa del Rey. And while I don't understand what Mesut Ozil really did last season other than dance around the penalty area while wearing a hairband, it's fruitless to deny that he was often a top performer.

Anyway, the midfielders don't worry me.

What doesn't seem fair to me are some of the players you've allowed entry—particularly in the realm of attackers. Considering that attacking prowess has long been a deal-breaker where this trophy is concerned, your voters' utter ineptitude this year is positively shocking.

Let's begin with the case of Karim Benzema. The former Lyon man has been excellent in 2011—his 25 goals for Real Madrid serve as a perfect indicator of his rebirth within a side in which it had long seemed he would never fully integrate after his big-money '09 move.

But has he been good enough to keep Arsenal's talismanic now-captain Robin van Persie off the list?

Sorry, Mr. Blatter; take your time before answering that question. I know you've got an awful lot to do.

Ready? OK, here we continue:

Never mind the fact that van Persie has netted 31 times for Arsenal this season—a superior tally for club than

Benzema (25) 
Aguero (24)
Eto'o (23)
Rooney (26) 
David Villa (17)
Neymar (14)
Suarez (11)
Forlan (four)

With that statistical acumen backing my argument, I beg to query just what gives, Mr. Blatter? I know I should have taken the time to look up assist totals—and that is an essential component in an all-around striker's game—but I doubt they factor as heavily into the final decision as goals.

So is it because Villa has the sexier hairdo? You shouldn't discriminate on the liberality of application of hair gel. Van Persie would have to show up to games as disheveled as Walt Whitman coming off an all-night bender, hair everywhere, along with an overflowing, janky beard swishing behind him for that argument to take hold.

Is it because Arsenal crashed out in the Champions League Round of 16 and failed to win a trophy for what is now six years running?

Might I remind you that not only did Aguero or Forlan not play in last season's Champions League, they also failed to win a trophy in 2011 (the UEFA SuperCup, nothing more than a glorified exhibition, should never count toward these proceedings) with Atletico Madrid.

Now, I realize that international play factors into your decision. How else could you explain leaving Wesley Sneijder off the final list of three candidates in 2010, a year in which he had been Inter Milan's best player on the way to sealing an unprecedented treble, the first in Italian club football history?

He was left on the outside looking in on Andres Iniesta, Xavi and the eventual winner, Messi.

Few could argue Messi's merits, but considering that neither Iniesta nor Xavi won the Champions League that year (Inter beat them in the semifinals), their inclusion appeared based on the fact that Spain, their national team, had won the 2010 World Cup.

Fair play, I guess, particularly since Iniesta had scored the deciding goal against Sneijder's Holland in the 1-0 final. But could you provide any quantifiable explanation for why Xavi was preferred to Sneijder? I racked my brain, but couldn't find one.

Sneijder had scored more goals in the World Cup (five) than Xavi or Iniesta, and had once again provided the fulcrum for his side, as he'd done with Inter just months previously. Neither Iniesta nor Xavi earned Player of the Tournament honors, either. That distinction went to Diego Forlan.

If that World Cup gold medal really is worth its weight, tell us so. Otherwise, I think Sneijder was more important to Holland than Iniesta or Xavi were for Spain.

The Spanish example does become evident instrumental in Aguero's and Forlan's examples.

They won the 2011 Copa America crown with Uruguay (Suarez was voted Best Player after scoring four goals, Forlan had two—both coming in the 3-0 final) after all.

However, I would argue that allowing international exploits to count toward this award in any year where a World Cup does not take place is a disservice.

European players did not have a major tournament in 2011 to contend with the Copa America—all they had were friendlies, in which van Persie often scored for Holland. It must be said.

It follows, of course, that European players should not be given an advantage in voting next year, when some will partake in the European championships in Poland and Ukraine.

The barometer does not allow for equal representation.

Once again, I ask you why a recount was not demanded once you saw van Persie was not on the list.

Throwing aside Neymar for a minute. If you were going for the "wow" factor by including the coolest teenager on the planet, you should have decided to hold December's ceremony at a Monaco nightclub redolent with strobe lights and confetti.

I pose you this potential solution. Let's call it the van Persie addendum.

A rule must be applied wherein a player who can be proven as having performed at a superior level to many of his colleagues can gain supplemental entry to the list of 23.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more in-form striker at the moment than van Persie, and I would make a staunch argument that the Arsenal No. 10 could make a serious case for inclusion in the final list of three candidates before the award is announced in December.

He's been that good. Outside of Messi and Ronaldo, you won't find a more prolific striker in 2011 in one of the world's top leagues.

So there you have it, Mr. Blatter. While I wouldn't go so far as to demand an overhaul of the voting system (I already tried that with your joke of a World Cup selection set-up this past spring, to no avail.), I would strongly recommend that you have your the collective sanity of your voters thoroughly tested.

The Ballon d'Or is not some flighty popularity contest or a feather in the cap type ordeal, whereupon a journalist can look back in 20 years and say, "See, I had the foresight to include Neymar on that list back at the beginning, before he'd really made a splash."

Make a "Starlet of the Year" category if you're that adamant upon giving the Brazilian a trophy. I know Santos will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup this December; you can give it to him then.

Meanwhile, Robin van Persie stands to gain next to nothing in the way of accolades despite his sublime turn of form through the past calendar year.

I would dare say he could make a case as being the most important player to any side in the world at present. Those deus-ex-machina turns against Sunderland and Stoke City, not to mention the hat-trick against Chelsea this past weekend, would provide fitting testimony to that claim.

But once again, FIFA have failed spectacularly, something I must applaud you for. You do it better than most.

Thus, my argument finished, I diminish, free to fester in my injustice-ridden stupor. I wish you the best in your future endeavors, Mr. Blatter.

Then again, you don't need my acclamation. You make sure you have fun and remain in charge.

Best Wishes,

Matthew Snyder

American Footballing Fanatic (I prove that oxymorons do, in fact, exist)