First off let me say that I rate Rooney as a world class player and he is in the form of his life at the moment. But I will not join in with those who are prematurely campaigning that he should win the World Player of the Year award. I believe that there are a number of barriers stopping him from winning the most prestigious player award in world football.
Champions League:
In the last decade, six of the winners of the WPY award were one Champions League winning teams that year.
Calm down you Red Devils I’m not counting you out but United’s squad this year may be the weakest it has been for quite some time (but that debate is for another time). The fact is that regardless of how many goals Rooney scores, if United do not with the Champions League it could hurt Wayne’s chances.
World Cup:
You know those four remaining winners in the last decade? Two of them were the Most Valuable Players of the World Cup. Also every world cup year since the introduction of the award, the FWP was awarded to a player on the winning team (Cannavaro-2006, Ronaldo-2002, Zidane-1998, Romaria-1994). Guess what, 2010 is a World Cup year.
This poses another threat to Team Rooney’s bid to become the first Englishman to win the award. If England does not at least come close to winning the World Cup Rooney’s chances are even slimmer.
Ronaldo & Messi:
If the first two challenges weren’t enough Rooney is up against two pretty good players in Ronaldo and Messi. Both are scoring lots of goals in Spain, and both have an opportunity to win the Champions League or World Cup as well.
Regardless of what happens in the coming months, Rooney’s arrival as a world class player is undeniable. Only one thing is certain, it is a great time to be a football fan.
Play Beautiful!
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