Jamie Carragher has a point
When it comes to the Ballon d'Or, history shows that success in African or Asian tournaments means little. Just ask Younis Mahmoud.
Jamie Carragher had a point with what he said about tournaments and the Ballon d’Or. When it comes to the biggest individual prize in the game, some international competitions are perceived to be worth a lot more than others in a football world that is still very much Euro-centric.
Back in 2007, Iraq was divided and devastated after the US-led invasion. Younis Mahmoud was the leader of a ragtag national team that was given no chance ahead of the Asian Cup. Yet somehow, he and his team-mates made it all the way to the final and the man himself headed that unforgettable winning goal in the Jakarta final. Iraq celebrated, and even President George Bush spoke of his delight. It was a fairy tale showing what football was all about. Surely, this historic feat was worthy of winning the Ballon d’Or that year?
The Desert Fox came 29th.
Criticism of Carragher
Talking on the United Kingdom’s Sky Sports last Sunday, the pundit suggested Liverpool’s red-hot forward Mohamed Salah chances of lifting the Ballon d’Or are harmed given that his continental tournament is the African Cup of Nations.
"I think the problem is the fact he's with Egypt, and he's probably not playing in the major tournament as such, or maybe got a great chance of winning, I think it's either the Champions League or the major tournament. Normally, the player who excels in that.”
He went on to clarify on social media.
"If Salah had an average season at LFC but won the Afcon & was MVP [Most Valuable Player] I don't think he would win the Ballon d'Or. Because I don't think Afcon carries the weight of other tournaments,” Carragher said. “But if Mbappe had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup/Euros, he would still have a great opportunity."
“Saying it wasn’t a major competition was clumsy but I think most people watching could understand the point I was trying to make.”
He thought wrong. Even the official social media accounts of the Confederation of African Football hit back, which seemed to be a bit of an over-reaction to the comments of one pundit.
Nigeria legend Austin Eguavoen said that the former Liverpool man would see the error of his ways.
“The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the best football tournaments in the world,” he said. “And if anyone feels otherwise, well he's entitled to his opinion but rather unfair and disrespectful. Jamie Carragher spoke out of emotion and clearly doesn’t understand what this tournament means to us in Africa. That’s unfortunate.
“I played in three AFCON tournaments and have also coached in the competition, so it’s a source of immense pride for me. I'm proud of what it represents. The last tournament in Cote d'Ivoire, for example, was watched globally, and the quality of football was exceptional. Carragher's comments were emotional rather than thoughtful. I’m sure he’ll reflect on them and eventually apologise.”
If Carragher meant that Africa’s big meet was not a big deal and not worthy of respect, then he should not be too surprised at the reaction. If, however, the former Liverpool star, meant –as he says he did –that doing well there has little impact on Ballon d’Or recognition, then he has a strong argument.
Little Success
African players just don’t win the Ballon d’Or. The last —and only —one that did was George Weah way back in 1995 and given that Liberia didn’t appear at AFCON until the following year then the tournament was unlikely to be much of a factor.
Rightly or wrongly, and obviously it is the latter, this continental tournament does not tilt the scales much when it comes to the biggest individual prize in the sport.
In 2024, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman was the only African to make the Ballon d’Or shortlist of 30, finishing 14th after a year in which he starred at AFCON but also bagged a hat-trick in the final of the Europa League for Atalanta.
It should, of course, be remembered that the prize is awarded based on votes from around the world though with only one player not from Europe or South America on the list, options were limited. Nigeria’s representative put Lookman first and there were votes from the Ivory Coast (5th), Ghana (7th) Gabon (7th) Cameroon (7th) Equatorial Guinea (8th), South Africa (8th) Mali (9th), Burkino Faso (10th) and Senegal (10th). Outside his home continent, Lookman didn’t get much of a look-in.
It’s not just Africa’s tournament that struggles in this regard. The Asian Cup has even less clout. Akram Afif led Qatar to the 2023 continental title, again played in the following year. He didn’t make the list at all. Yet Kim Min-jae- the last Asian player to be included, did in 2022 for helping Napoli to the Serie A title.
So it’s clear that, World Cup apart, it’s all about Europe. You could be head and shoulders the best player at the Asian Cup or AFCON, could win the Champions Leagues in those continents but if you are not in the perceived big leagues then you are not going to be smiling in Paris towards the end of the year. You are not even going to make the top 30.
And it’s not just players. Of the 19 coaches top to make the top three in The Best FIFA Football Coach of the year since its 2016 inception, there are 16 Europeans and three from Argentina. The likes of South Africa’s Pitso Misomane who won Africa’s Champions League with two different clubs in different countries or Hussein Ammouta, the Moroccan who took Jordan to an unforgettable Asian Cup final, have been ignored.
Africa vs Asia
There were some pushback from fans of Asian football online too, how Carragher’s comments showed the ignorance/arrogance of the European mindset. Yet there is some hypocrisy. The Euros are covered extensively all over Asian media while AFCON gets little attention, especially when you get past parts of West Asia which, to be fair, does show some interest in the exploits of fellow Arab nations such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.
In fact, internationally, AFCON gets a good deal more exposure than the Asian Cup despite the fact that it takes place every two years instead of four. There are more articles in the international media, more journalists from outside the region, more broadcasters and, it’s more talked about. There are reasons for this –the greater number of recognisable stars, the timezone, the perceived style of play and more besides– but Asia has it worse than Africa in that regard.
For both continents, however, they are still very much on the outside looking in when it comes to the Ballon d’Or.