Who Will Win FIFA Player of the Year For 2008?

AC Milan's Kaka won the title last year for Fifa World Player of the Year, but it is Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo who is frontrunner for the award in 2008. Ronaldo has scored 41 goals for Manchester United this season, an astonishing number for a winger, smashing the 40-year-old record of 35 strikes held by George Best. Ronaldo is arguably having the greatest single season of any player in the history of Manchester United.

The Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has suggested that Manchester United are overly reliant on their Portuguese playmaker, claiming that Ronaldo "has carried United on his back" through the season. Although Ronaldo is United's outstanding player, it is the team around him that allows him to play his game. To suggest that he carries United is off the mark.

Now, we won't argue that Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud or even Riquelme deserve to win best player for 2008. They all had spectacular seasons. Kaka, Gerrard, Pirlo and Gattuso met in the Champions League final so you could also make a case for them as well. But the rest? How many of these are here because of reputation? Thuram and Viera are washed up has beans. Ribery hadn't yet come into his own and Torres had never lived up to his billing in Spain. Tevez spent most of the year on the bench at West Ham, Buffon most of the year in Serie B and most everyone else spent a significant portion of the year injured; except for Deco who spent most of the year being confused with Iniesta and Xavi. Am I getting to my point yet?

Again, we are not disputing this people shouldn't be nominated, we are not even worried so much with who will win because it's obvious that one of these, Kaka, Drogba, C. Ronaldo, or Messi, deserve it just as much as any.

Yet, eternally injured Rafa Marquez gets nominated, over the Golden Boot winner in Europe- Francesco Totti? God, even David Beckham deserves votes for inspiring his club to win down the stretch for Real Madrid.

We realize this is a popularity contest and Francesco Totti, who isn't even liked by the majority in his own country (outside of Rome I guess) won't be winning any, but there are glaring cases like this that completely underscore how stupid this award really is. Give it to Kaka again, who seems the darling of Fifa anyway, and of Brazilian extraction which helps for starters.

The award is ALWAYS given to an attacker and it's usually the right pick, but defenders never really get their props (unless you're Cannavaro). This award is going to 1 of 3 players: Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Messi and believe when we state that there is no political influence on this.

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