When Roy Hodgson stunned the football world with the craziest set of Ballon d'Or votes
The Ballon d’Or award and Roy Hodgson may not be two things you associate with each other – but the former England boss caused a stir with his votes in 2014.
Hodgson, 77, was England’s manager at the time, but given his experience and European football know-how, he made a huge call regarding Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi and Ronaldo were arguably at the peak of their powers at the time, but the Argentine had lost the World Cup final in Brazil that year.
As ever, international success has a bearing on whether a player is likely to win the coveted award alongside their achievements in domestic and European club competitions.
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Germany won the World Cup in 2014, with Real Madrid securing the 2013-14 edition of the Champions League with a dramatic victory over city rivals Atletico Madrid.
World Cup winners and key men during Germany’s triumph, Manuel Neuer and Philipp Lahm, were two of Hodgson’s picks, according to Sky Sports.
But it was former Barcelona and Liverpool man Javier Mascherano who was the former Crystal Palace manager’s first pick for the award.
Despite his impressive performances, 2014 was ultimately a year of disappointment for the Argentine.
His club side Barcelona missed out on success in La Liga and the Copa del Rey – thanks to Gareth Bale’s spectacular solo effort in the final.
Arguably, the biggest disappointment was the 1-0 loss to Germany in the World Cup final despite Mascherano impressing with his consistent performances in the 2014 tournament.
The ex-West Ham man made the second-most number of tackles at the tournament (22), joint-third most blocks (6) and recovered the ball for his team on 49 occasions.
After a brilliant semi-final performance against the Netherlands, Argentina legend Diego Maradona praised his compatriot.
“'Masche' was exceptional," he said after the 2014 semi-final.
"When I said it was 'Masche' and ten more, they laughed. Today, they could not laugh.
“The example on the pitch is Mascherano. Everyone follows his rhythm. So they cannot score against us.”
Despite not picking up a winner’s medal with Barca or Argentina, he was still named as the Catalonian’s player of the year ahead of stars Messi and Neymar.
However, Ronaldo won the 2014 edition of the award after a 52-goal season for Los Blancos.
Attackers usually come away with the prize, in its almost 70-year history, just three defenders have won the award, including Franz Beckenbauer (twice), Matthias Sammer and Fabio Cannavaro.
This year is the first time since 2003 that either Messi or Ronaldo were not nominated, with Madrid’s Vini Jr and Manchester City’s Rodri the two favourites to pick up the trophy.
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Roy Hodgson, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid
Luke Davies