Reiterating his reservations on Lionel Messi being preferred over Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski for the Ballon d’Or award, the German great Lothar Matthaus said the latter should be considered for the next FIFA World Player of the Year.
“Lewandowski was the best player in 2021 but we have to respect the decision of people who gave Messi the Ballon d’Or. We have to congratulate Messi in all fairness but for me it was a wrong decision. I am a fan of Messi and he was the best player in the last 15 years. But this year Lewandowski is the No. 1 for me in Europe and in the world," Matthaus said.
"And next year when FIFA selects the world player of the year, Lewandowski should win because what he has contributed to football is incomparable. He presented himself as a complete player. He was not only scoring goals as a striker was also taking a lot of additional responsibilities in both attack and defence as a real leader,” Matthaus said during an interaction with select media hosted by Sony Sports .
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Matthaus felt that the pandemic caused a lot of damage to football but it will be emerging stronger if the political and medical forces contribute positively. “We are hoping that we will be able to stop the pandemic as soon as possible and we can live our normal life. The sport will always be determined by how we live our lives and I can say the pandemic will alter the way we see it now. I am trying to be positive about everything. I believe the political leaders and the medical professionals will be able to contribute positively and ensure the sport is able to overcome the adverse effects of the pandemic,” he said.
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When asked about the reason how German coaches are fetching success to clubs outside their country, Matthaus said the world is recognising the good work they did in Bundesliga. "The coaches who are coaching in the Premier League are very experienced. They did the hard work in Germany before taking the English assignments."
"It happened in the cases of Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool FC), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea), Ralf Rangnick (Manchester United) who have played big roles in building up clubs in Germany like RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim FC and Borussia Dortmund. English clubs have signed the German coaches because they believe that they can change football with the craft and understanding they have shown in bringing up the German clubs. Only Julian Nagelsmann (Bayern Munich) is different but he started his coaching career very early and did wonderful work with RB Leipzig."
Watch the LIVE coverage of Der Klassiker – Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund on SONY TEN 2 channels from 11:00 pm (IST) on December 4, 2021.
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