HomeNewsKANT HE WIN THE BALLON D'OR?

KANT HE WIN THE BALLON D’OR?

By Pranav Venkatesh

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Kante Ballon D'or

As they say, 70% of the earth is covered by water the rest is covered by N’Golo Kante. The French midfield dynamo is performing on levels beyond imagination in the past few months for club and country. He helped Chelsea win the Champions League. Kante is currently with the French National Team preparing for the upcoming Euros. Naturally, Kante through his performances has become a favorite for the award and deserves this year’s Ballon d’Or.

Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award in the footballing world. It’s an honor to win this award which recognizes a player’s brilliance and his impact on the team in a calendar year. In this millennium attackers have dominated the Ballon d’Or awards. Especially we have seen Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly over the Golden ball in the last decade. Luka Modric was the one who broke their duopoly in 2018. He was more of an attacking midfielder. Kante winning the Ballon d’Or would make him the first of his kind winner of the trophy.

Kante’s performance have made him a front runner for the trophy. Robert Lewandowski who was a favorite for the award last year was disappointed when it was canceled for 2020 due to the pandemic. He’s in the mix this time again along with usual suspects Messi and Ronaldo. Kante’s co-country men Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema are also favorites for the award. Kante needs to have a massive impact at the Euros to have a genuine claim for the award.

THOSE THREE GAMES MAN

It seemed like Kante ran out of steam a year ago as he was just putting mediocre performances. He quickly rectified and upped his game. Thomas Tiuchel who arrived at Stamford Bridge helped Kante massively. Tuchel who loved Kante during his time at PSG finally got the chance to work with him. The duo worked wonders on the training pitch as Kante’s positioning, ball retention and ball carrying ability improved tenfolds.

As a result, Kante has been immense since the turn of the year. His performances in the league and Champions League especially have been miraculous. Kante was all over the field in few games winning the ball out of nowhere and starting Chelsea’s attacks. He was like a defensive rock in the games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Champions League has seen the best of Kante. He put man-of-the-match performances in three straight games in the knockouts as he helped Chelsea to their second Champions League title. First up was a huge semifinal first-leg clash against Real Madrid. Kante was the reason for Chelsea winning the midfield battle against Real Madrid’s legendary trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro. He put a similar performance in the second leg as Chelsea strolled to the final.

Kante saved his best for the last as he put a masterclass against Manchester City in the final. He covered every blade of grass on the pitch as he didn’t let City get a hold on the game. Kante deservedly got the man of the match award as his Chelsea side won the game 1-0 and lifted the Champions League for the second time.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

Ballon d’Or is an award that considers a player’s performance over the year. One needs to be incredibly consistent over the year to have a chance of winning it. Now that the first half of the season is over Kante has a massive boost as he won the Champions League. He has a major task ahead in the form of Euros.

This summer gives a major chance for Ballon d’Or hopefuls. There are two continental trophies in the form of Euros and Copa America. All the major players in the mix are hoping to win the international trophies and have a better chance of winning it. Kante’s France is stacked with superstars and contenders like Benzema and Mbappe. Benzema and Mbappe have not won the league or Champions League. They’d be leading their side from the front with goals and assists as they look to win the Euros.

Kante has to impose himself on the team. He plays in a pivot for the national side and can influence games from that position. France are put in the group of death alongside defending champions Portugal, old foes Germany and dark horses Hungary. These provide the perfect challenge for Kante to raise and shine. After the Euros, he has to be consistent in the league in the new season. All these factors would make Kante a Ballon d’Or winner.

EVERYONE LOVES KANTE

After such an impressive campaign the entire world is in favor of Kante winning the Ballon d’Or. Kante’s journey is a wonderful and inspiring one. Having started his career in France, a move to the Premier League has introduced him to the world. He won the Premier League in his first year with Leicester City and again a year later with Chelsea. Now he has a Champions League medal to his name.

In all these years of the success story, Kante has been a humble personality. He is a shy fellow who doesn’t feel comfortable in the spotlight. Even after winning the Champions League, he was shying away from an interview saying it was a team win. All these humble acts made him a player with no haters. Even his National team coach Didier Deschamps feels that Kante deserves a Ballon d’Or. His teammates like Paul Pogba and Olivier Giroud fully support Kante for the golden globe award.

The journalists who play a key role in deciding the Ballon d’Or winner are in awe of Kante. He is even leading the odds of winning the Ballon d’Or ahead of the likes of Messi and Mbappe. We might be in a new winner by the end of this year. This winner named Kante is loved by all and deserves to be a true Ballon d’Or winner.

Pranav Venkatesh

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