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Does Chelsea’s Mourinho Deserve Ballon D’Or Nomination Over Brendan Rodgers?

Jose Mourinho

Luis Suarez’s exclusion has rightfully been the focal point of the 2014 Ballon D’Or nominations announced earlier this week. The biting incident at the World Cup has marred his chances given FIFA’s policy that along with the performances a players’ on-field and off-field behaviour would also be considered, but in spite of that Suarez deserved a nomination simply he was one of the top 3 players from last season, purely on the basis of footballing performance. With players like Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez also missing out, it is safe to say the selection panel might have got their nominations a bit wrong but still, selecting 23 from a lot of good players is hard and they might have still been able to come up with a proper list.

But it is the coach of the year shortlist that is in fact a shocker. The inclusion of Louis Van Gaal and Jurgen Klinsmann has been discussed thoroughly in the recent days. While both have done a good job with their respective national teams at the World Cup, both of them had a considerably talented side especially Van Gaal. Meanwhile, the likes of Jorge Sampaoli of Chile and Jorge Luis Pinto with the Costa Rican side had comparatively weaker sides but still managed to put up equally respectful performances. Costa Rica especially managed to shock everyone at the World Cup after topping the group of death and eliminating title hopefuls England and Italy in the first round. Such a performance deserved better recognition and a Ballon D’Or nomination would have been respectful.

This comparison also brings the attention to Jose Mourinho’s inclusion among the nominations. After what was a trophyless season at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho might have got on the list all thanks to his reputation rather than performance.

True that Mourinho took Chelsea to a 3rd place finish in the Premier League and a semi-final spot in the Champions League. But it is to be noted that Chelsea had the firepower and talent in its squad to retain the 3rd place from the 2012-13 season and should have easily moved a place or two up in the 2013-14 season. Moreover, Chelsea and Mourinho came under heavy criticism for their defensive gameplay and even the die-hard fans of Chelsea would agree that they did not play the most attractive football either. Mourinho did not have a great transfer window either last season – despite identifying the need of a quality striker very early in the season, Mourinho could not get a decent striker in January, bringing Mohamed Salah from Basel instead.

Also the loaning out of Romelu Lukaku in August and selling Juan Mata in January were not extremely brilliant either. Having scored 17 and 11 goals respectively the previous season, Lukaku and Mata would have definitely offered Mourinho options in his quest for goals but instead chose to dispose them simply because he felt them unsuitable for his style of play. And finally towards the end of the season, despite having the opportunity to clinch the title, Mourinho’s men lost the plot losing to lowly placed Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

On the other hand, Brendan Rodgers took a young Liverpool side that was struggling to write off its label as a mid-table side and did wonders with them. Comparing the side Rodgers had at his disposal with sides like Chelsea and Manchester City, Liverpool had a rather average squad (excluding a certain Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard) including former Chelsea outcast Daniel Sturridge. But still Rodgers injected a dose of newly found confidence and fearlessness that ended in the Reds losing the title only by a whisker assisted considerably by the brilliance of Suarez. Analyzing these factors it is hard to believe a 3rd placed Chelsea’s Mourinho was nominated for the best coach of the year award over Rodgers whose side finished above Chelsea.

Even though there is no denying the quality of Van Gaal and Mourinho, the FIFA panel just may have been a bit lenient this time and rewarded their popularity over managers with more impressive performances.