大象传媒

ronaldo deserved the award

its a shame he has been viewed as unworthy due to his unsporting approach to the game

however the decision is right not to give him the award. I feel that is the opinion of many neutrals?

I thought Ronaldo would get the award. I'm a little disappointed right now..

Very true. Ronaldo has the talent to be a great player, if he removed the spoilt attitude from his game.

I believe the Evening Standard yesterday compared him to "Violet Elizabeth Bott" of Just William - If I don't get the ball I'll scream and scream until I get (I can you know)!

it is some of the bitter English who have robbed Ronaldo of this award it's a shame that because Portugal won against England that England fans have launched this hate campaign against Portugal, particularly Ronaldo, I think he should of won but he didn't.

Nicola

No, the 'bitter' English haven't robbed Ronald O of the award. He could still have won it as he made the top three.

Perhaps he robbed himself of the award by blighting his undoubted talent with his diving and dishonourable behaviour.

Ronaldo was clearly the best young player. I suppose his failure to win the award will be seen by the English as retribution. Now that is sad.

I expected this, this is a very nice consolation prize for FIFA to give hosts Germany, while not making sponsors Gilette worried about bad image on the UK. Meanwhile FIFA, who I doubt forgot about Urs Meier, ignores british tabloids and press antics by rightfully giving the final to Elizondo to whistle and looks likely Rooney is getting a suspension.

Actually, I don't see this as a consolation. Fact is, Poldi scored 3 goals (and maybe there is more to come tomorrow).
No doubt, Ronaldo is incredibly gifted. But as these blogs show, he kinda lacks a certain sportsmanship. Without the diving, he probably would have won the award.
Anyways, it'll be interesting to see those two players match up tomorrow. Let's see, if the decision was wrong or right.

P.S.: I can't help it, but it's kinda funny. Now both, Portugal and England, feel betrayed after all...

Fantastic! I voted for Poldi as he really, really deserved it. It has got nothing to do with him being citizen of the host country. And remember, he's Polish-born and only speaks Polish with his family. So this is really about HIMSELF, his performance during this WC!

I think Podolsky deserved the award more than Ronaldo, in terms of both skill and fair play. His performance in Germany-Italy was impeccable, and the same can't be said of Ronaldo against France.

It will be interesting to compare the two players in the 3-4 final...

Ahm, Podolski??
Ok, he shot some important goals, but almost always stumbling over his own feet ... He was, beside Ballack, disappointing. With Juergen Klinsmann instead Podolski and Owen Hargreaves for Ballack, Germany would play on Sunday.

Nicola, the English were not involved in not selecting him. FIFA selected the player and I guess they finally realized that if they want to promote fair-play they just can't give the award to Ronaldo even so he has tremendous talent. But playing well is only part of the game. If you cheat and dive then you shouldn't get an award. Easy as that. I read today that in an interview even Beckenbauer complained about the players who cheat and dive (not naming one in particular) and that after the WC something needs to be done about it. So I guess FIFA is also fed up with it and that's why Ronaldo lost.

It is rather ironic that the player that got only 6% on the offical poll actually won!

Oh so once again the Portugal say its the fault of the English? Sorry but it was selected by the Fifa committeme. In the world cup which is a global advertisement of the great sport do you seriously think they are going to select a player who spends more time on the floor than on his feet? Yes talent wise he was the best, however its not just tallent that makes a great player, and Poloski showed great character in all the german games for a young man. Maybe if Ronaldo took a leaf out of this ROLE MODEL then he would have picked the award up.
You accuse the English of being bad loosers..... well fair enough at least we are not hypocritical!

I think that Ronaldo deserved to win the award because he had a higher consistent level of performance than Podolski. Podolski did score some goals and caused Italy problems in the semi final, but he also had one or two poor games (eg Poland).

Many of you are upset with Ronaldo's sportsmanship....when an english or ie german player draws a foul or a penalty "that wasn't one (happens all the time unless you think english players are morally superior to others) do they go to the ref. and say "no thank you, we don't want the foul because it was non-existant"??; "eliminate" players that have shown some sort of deceipt or unsportsmanship attitudes in the world cup and guaranteed dozens should "leave".Truth is deceipt, tricks, rougher than rough-play to violent, lying, exagerating, fouling when the ref. isn't looking etc are all part of the game and have always been so, and, FIFA can't solve all this nor could they. Ronaldo is part of this football scene and just like most football pro's (and non-pro's) use
certain tricks and at some point a referee can be deceived or tricked by a player, nothing new, part of the game.England....get over Ronaldo and losing to Portugal, focus on playing better and scoring more goals and then you won't have to worry about harping about Ronaldo's!!, Tom

Poldi, Schatzi, you deserve this award. You scored 3 goals, showed an enormous team spirit, played freshly and creative, always smiled, never wore goggles on the pitch. You are the best young player of this tornament - Full Stop.

I found out about the poll too late, but wanted to vote Podlski. I think he's been very consistent and is definitely one to look out for in the next world cup and european championship.

Glad Ronaldo didn't get it, he's been playing the same way as he does for United. Flashes of brilliance, clouded by moments of controversy and cynical football.

I think you should look at Mattheus' comments and see that it is not only the English who have taken notice of him.

I think Totti deserved the award.

#16

morally superior?... difficult to substantiate.

are the majority of english and german players(and players from many other nations) LESS likely to cheat... yes. That has been plain for all to see over the last month

of course he is no saint, but robbie fowler once did say to the ref "no thank you, the foul was non existant".

kingymmot - tell me whether you believe simulation and deception are on an equal moral ground to honesty.

oh this hate campaign was really mature... the fair play of the english really amazes me. i don't think ronaldo deserved the prize, but the fact that there was a campaign against him based on a situation where rooney trully deserved to be sent off is really sad. besides, there was no kind of insults in portuguese press before the game, like there was in english press. there was no false interviews, for example, like the english press did with pauleta. when you have this kind of disrespectful attitude, i guess you shouldn't expect respect for your opponent.

Time will set things right. There's always tomorrow. It always does. That is the reason why England didn't win in 40 years... ;-) And I guess it'll be a loooooong time before they do it again, at least without selling their soul...

What amazes me most is that people south of the border appear to beleive that rooney has done nothing wrong. Yes what Ronaldo done could be viewed as apoor judgement however stamping on a player is unacceptable behaviour, even if it is the english wonder boy.

i think it is time to remove your rose coloured glasses and look at the big picture had rooney not stamped on carvillio in a imature bout of petulance you would have had better chance with eleven player.

One last point Alan shearers comment about sticking one on Ronaldo (what a role model for young kids) is this not the player who kicked out at neil lennon then said if the fa found him guilty he would not play for england.

Following on my post on the other blog yesterday, this is the right result.

Well done Poldi!

What amazes me most is that people south of the border appear to beleive that rooney has done nothing wrong. Yes what Ronaldo done could be viewed as apoor judgement however stamping on a player is unacceptable behaviour, even if it is the english wonder boy.

i think it is time to remove your rose coloured glasses and look at the big picture had rooney not stamped on carvillio in a imature bout of petulance you would have had better chance with eleven player.

One last point Alan shearers comment about sticking one on Ronaldo (what a role model for young kids) is this not the player who kicked out at neil lennon then said if the fa found him guilty he would not play for england.

the english fans鈥� campaign was disappointing but fifa鈥檚 selection is even more so. ronaldo absolument deserved the award, podolski is a good young player yes and congratulations to him, however he clearly falls short of cr in talent and overall ability and performance in this world cup. this is a travesty of business interests trumping standards of merit 鈥� best to avoid the risk of upsetting yet more the hoards of english fans and english fan hangers on, not to hear out the people mind you but merely to avoid outcry and its sibling prospect of the slightest transitory freckle on fifa's image, all while giving the host country a nice stroke or two. consolation, si, and public image protection is its name: how perfect for them. sadly as an american i should know not to expect more from any organization so much as marginally bordering on corporate or political but nonetheless it is a grand pity. fifa could have shown some backbone and supported the player who most deserved the award, could have stood in the face of the vogueish and repulsive antiportuguese fanfare and could have supported the player that the people honestly chose, in effect rather, thus also taking a stand against what was a most hypocritically unsportsmanlike campaign to stop the best player from winning. but why should they bother, when it is so seductively simple to flush a bit of meritocracy down the tubes some more, handwash handwash. down with the people and down with merit and viva la fifa. it is not difficult to vibe a veritable cristiano complex sweeping the globe and fifa is evidently not immune in its own sloppy right. their selection was weak, a lazy choice of ease and convenience, traits so unlike ronaldo鈥檚 dazzling and dynamic style of play that one could almost see how the hopelessly safe and bland fifa could fail to manage to fully appreciate all he has done. but not quite, there are no excuses here little fifa friends 鈥� you botched this one tres tres bad.

On a related topic (online voting) there is currently a poll to vote for the most exciting team at the tournament. This also appears to have been subject to suspect votes, as Portugal are currently top...

I'd encourage everyone to vote for Germany, but as we are so far behind I'd say you should all vote for the team I thought was the second most exciting, the Italians. How the Portuguese could be seen as the most exciting team beggars belief.

Its odd that when Ronaldo gets lambasted by fans and supposed 'professionals' on television, memories of equal or worse behaviour from England players are forgotten. Not only was his complaining to the referee oh so familiar to the typical reaction from Chelsea and Man Utd players in the same situation, but also let's not forget Gerrard, the ultimate pro, a fine footballer and (apart from one silly dive) a great role-model, dived quite recently to win a penalty, and that Crouch fouled the player to score against Trinidad & Tobago. What were the pundits reactions to such behaviour? Its creative gamesmanship? Every other team is doing it so why dont we? These went without much fuss, but when a player complains to a referee when his team-mate is fouled, he, and he alone gets the third degree. Rooney stood on the player. England were pathetic all tournament. Ronaldo may be a a lot of things, but he's not to blame for a second rate team going home. For all the huff and puff before and after Englands world cup, it's amazing the press dont stand aside so we can see what we all prepared for, good teams, playing good football. Let there be no more talk of 66, England never had any chance of winning the World Cup.

IPOD vs RON

Ronaldo deserved it for sure...He was a towering figure in a very controversial Portugese team, who can play the 'Beautiful game' and ply 'dirty' when required...but Podolski ('I-Pod') also had an excellent world-cup and scored more than him and is a more PC choice. Fair-play should also count.

HD.

Bad choise from an even worse World Cup. Well done. I'm proud of your honesty

FRENCH MOODY FANS

ALLEEEZ LES BLEUS.....AUX ARMES! NOUS SOMMES LES FRANCAIS...ET NOUS ALLONS GAGNER!

Seriously what does drive people to the EPL: The fan's uncompromised passion for the game. A. Wenger and Houillier have said exactly the same thing about the French apathy...Let's just say that they put their passion in other areas...but still make sure that they spoil the life of their more fervent counterparts...

However, in France the madness is quite impressive and we should expect some serious celebration like in 98, win or loose by the way...As we all knew they weren't supposed to be there...oh sod it! That's my Frecnh streak coming out again! ...

No...here it is: ON VA GAGNER !!!

HD.

Bless,

HD.

ZIZOU vs DIEGO

Come what may on Sunday. Zizou will enter history as one of the true great. He has now led his country to two W-cup finals. Like, before him a man called Diego Armando Maradona. The question is simple:
Who's the best?

ZIZOU or DIEGO

HD.

@ everyone who said ronaldo:

you got there something wrong: the competition was about the best young player - not the player who is most overweight... ;)

I think the best young player is Messi, but he did not make many games, so Podolski is a good choice!

I find it quite ammusing that the people from Portugal have got so wound up about this, look its quite simple if you don't like it then don't watch it! Don't you have a TV channel of your own? Do we moan about your media coverage? No. Take care of what goes on in your own country.

Secondly I have been out the germany for the world cup and it was excellent, I met some really friendly people, including fans from Portugal. I had several nights out with people we befriended from all over Portugal, and they were very pleasent people. So i am amazed to see such a negative reaction on these posts.

Thirdly I have an appartment in Portugal, I have recently got back from my holiday which was meant to be 2 weeks long, I have come back 9 days early? Why you ask? because the abuse I got over in the city of Lisbon was appauling. I wore my england shirt as i do on many holidays for the first night. I was called insulting names, spat at, bottles broken near my children, and even refused service at one restaurant. I have never had a problem before in Portugal and have enjoyed many holidays there (hence me buying my appartment). On the second day the car outside my flat had been vandalised, maybe because I had an England flag on it. On notifying the police they were very unhelpful and unsympathtic, I was pretty much told in leymans terms, what do you expect if you are wearing an england shirt. I am sorry, am I not allowed to wear the my nations colours in another country? I have been disgusted at the treatment I have recieved and am now going to sell my holiday home and buy one where I am free to enjoy my holidays and have safety for my children e.g Germany. It is not acceptable to aim abuse at me for being english but I can accept that to a degree, but to involve innoccent children who were rightly petrified simply discusts me. So before you start calling English people hooligans, dont contradict yourself and take a look in your own back yard first.

Dear Blog

The reaction to Cristiano Ronaldo was deserved. He and his Portuguese team mates have exhibited cynical gamesmanship in almost every match. If they aren't imploring the referee to send opposition players off they are rolling on the ground, claiming black is white and deporting themselves as 'victims'.

What professional footballers fail to realise is that the crowds bring in the money and sponsorship - and the atmosphere. The game is little without the insensity, devotion and financial input of the spectators. Don't believe me. Let Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues play to an empty 'house' - the sponsors would soon lose interest and so would the television companies.

The Portuguese have treated the audience - televisual and live - to a disgraceful display. The fans have found them out and are displaying their displeasure.

The Portuguese put pay to the lie that football is all about winning and that the end justifies the means. The fans want skill and style and they want to be entertained. They want the beautiful game even if most teams, coaches and players don't want to deliver it. Thankfully, in this World Cup at least, some teams have decided that it is better to go out than bore the spectators to death.

E Hart

Its amazing that the one country, who more than any other, owed its sole world Cup triumph to refereeing errors should be the one to hold forth and lecture the rest of us on the evils of cheating and refereeing incompetence.

Can anybody imagine the reaction if England lost a world cup final to Argentina by a goal that did not cross the line, that never was - the sheer bedlam and hysteria that would explode around our heads. In the 1966 Quarter final between Argentina and England, Argentina had to play with 10 men because the Referee sent off the Argentine captain Rattin (in a match where English fouls doubled Argentine ones) because he 鈥� did not like the look on his face鈥� and because Rattin was allegedly insulting a referee who later on admitted to not understanding a word of Spanish.

Imagine the English reaction if Beckham had been sent off for abusing, in English, a referee who later admitted to not speaking or understanding a word of it.

The English are the spoilt, petulant and inadequate children of international football. Not once in 40 years of mediocrity have they ever admitted to loosing a tournament game because they played a better side, not once have they ever had the grace to congratulate their conquerors, there is always an excuse, always a whinge, always a hate figure to divert attention from their lack of any real ability to play good football. English football is a joke. The English now hate the Portuguese not because of their so called antics, but because the Iberians who they would rather patronise have cleaned the floor with them three times now in the last 6 years, Euro 2000, Euro 2004 and now this world cup - what a record. Portugal have produced Figo, a former world player of the year, respected throughout the game who has led his country, a small modest south European nation to the last 4 of at least 3 competitions, England have produced David Beckham, better known for his hair not playing style, who has led his country, one of the richest in the world, from one underachievement to the other.

Portugal have Ronaldo, a a fine winger with pace, trickery and above all courage, England have Rooney, a one trick pony (all he ever does is try and shoot from outside the box or barge his way through it) overrated and over hyped. Ronaldo will achieve great things in Spain, Rooney will spend the rest of his days bullying the likes of Charlton and Bolton and striving for red cards in major tournaments when confronted with good defenders (who can pocket mediocre and overrated strikers), so all the post match talk will not be about how average he really is but how 鈥樷�檋is temperament let the great genius down鈥�.

Then again he is also very likely to end up in prison. Lets face it he does look and act like a convict.

#32

zizou v diego...

very tough one but i must side with the fat little barrel chested scouse-permed greedy king of balance.

zizou has lifted, and at times carried teams, and scored goals that are truly at the highest level. champions league volley springs to mind. however little Diego could conjure moments that no other mere mortal could dream, he scored impossible goals and graced us with pieces of individual skill & sublime composure that has never/will never be seen again. 2 goals spring to mind from his napoli days ... a deft chip come scoop over the keeper from 5 yards and a shot/lob executed at full pace from 25-30 yrds on a 45 degree angle.

hand over the mouth, eye popping, freak like goals.

in the current climate it would be remiss of me not to add that I would place zizou on a completely different level based on honour and sportsmanship.

I always thought that someone who wins an award such as this should be an example to children watching aswell as being a credit to his profession. Ronaldo was not a good example. I will referee my sons football matches next Autumn as I do every year and I can picture the diving and roling about already. I know this will occur a lot more than stamping. I would say all the young players were disapointing. Podolski was guilty of a lot of diving aswell. What is a shame is that unlike recent tournaments there has not been a shining young star, infact no shinging stars at all. Except the old war horse Zidane.

The Portuguese have been shown to be the worst culprits when it comes to cheating and basic unsportmanlike behaviour..I think their failure to win Euro 2004 in their own backyard still haunts them..and Ronaldo has had a nightmare of a world cup..i feel sorry for him..he embarrassed himself in front of the watching world by proving he wouldn't know what fair play is even if it slapped him in the face and said "hello, i'm fair play"..oh cristiano..first he proved he was about as loyal as judas by telling everyone he wanted to leave united, then he told rooney before the game he was going to get him sent off, then he butted his head into rooney's head inexplicably before the game, then he ran to the ref screaming red card, then he winked at his bench implying job done, then his 'fellow' lost out in the race to be real's president, then he did a u-turn saying he didn't want to leave united, then he got booed by the crowd in the semi, then he dived in order to try and con the ref, then he cried, and then he lost out to podolski for best young player with lothar matthaus and co more or less saying he would have won had he not behaved like a spoilt brat..i'm a diehard united fan but alas my feelings for him as well as most fans of fair play changed in the wink of an eye (do you see what I've done there? blink..wink? oh forget it :-) )

It's worth remembering that the award is for the best young player. When looking at a player, you're not just assessing their technical skills, you are also looking at how they play in a team and how they behave on the pitch.

In terms of technical ability, Ronaldo was top of the class. But thanks to Scolari's habit of playing without a striker, most of Ronaldo's play on the wings was wasted. He got into dangerous positions, but there was never anyone for him to cross the ball to. So, as a team player, his skills were mostly wasted. His most telling contribution to the tournament was the penalty he scored against Mexico. Now, as for his behaviour, he's isn't quite the satanic figure that the British tabloids make him out to be, but he doesn't cover himself in glory. I don't think he deserves any harassment for his behaviour in the England game (rushing to the ref to shout about a challenge is something we see in the Premier League every week), but his blatant series of dives in the game against France mean that he shouldn't win the top prize. It's very easy to say that diving is just part of the game, and certainly, Ronaldo isn't the only one to do it, but to dive so often in such important games should not be rewarded.

Ronaldo will go on to be a great player, one of the best in the world, at least as long as he leaves the technically impoverished premiership to more accomplished leagues.

After this tournament Podolski will be forgotten

Ronaldo or Podolski or Messi or Valancia??

Well, to official votes I can only say "vox popoli, vox Rindvieh" (vox popoli, vox cattle) meaning most of the voters (including myself) dont really have a clue by which parameters the FIFA board dicided. They may have good reasons for chosing Podolski instead of Ronaldo.

So Podolski now has to justify in the upcoming years that he is a great player.

BTW Mr Shearer:

I made a comment in another blog that only one English player would be in the English squad if England was to chose from the squads of the Semifinalits' teams. If the English squad is so brilianty good, how come only one English player is in the squad of the tournament??? How??

And in my opinion even Terry doesnt deserve it, because he made too many errors, remember the one against Equador?? And in that match he became man of the match!! ROFL!

I would have chosen Mertesacker (O.K. I am biased on that because I am German, but Lucio would be the same), so please 大象传媒...fire that noob!

At the end of the day, Podolski has scored three goals in the competition, without getting close to a yellow card as far as I can remember.

Cristiano Ronaldo only scored a shoot-out penalty, and may have gone 'fairly' close to getting a few yellow cards.

I think Podolski is a worthy winner. Messi and Valencia were not seen enough, and the Swiss lad did ok, but he's one for the future too.

Let's also not forget that the Scots did vote heavily for Ronaldo in the poll, so his votes were just as inflated as the English voting for Valencia.

Until Ronaldo stops diving around like a competitor in a 1 metre diving competition, he will never be regarded as truly 'World Class', and top accolades will 'dive' past him.

I thought Miguel was as usual brilliant all competition for Portugal (including against England), but could not believe it when I saw 'Big Phil' and the bench all screaming for a foul against him when he twisted his knee. I felt very sorry for Miguel, but the reaction from the Portuguese bench and players to an injury that 'just happened' with no direct player around him, just showed what the Portuguese feel is the right way to behave.

Quite why the referee from the first semi final didn't get picked for the final is beyond me, a superb performance in a superb game that shows how it should be played.

By everyone.

I've been seriously unimpressed with Podolski throughout the tournament considering the hype beforehand.

Simple fact - Ronaldo should have won hands down.

After reading John Barnes' post I thought I'd post this message from one of 大象传媒's 606 forums.

Its a sad story as well. Especially since children are affected by this.

The News Agencies from England are incredibly irresponsible.

The 大象传媒 which I held in high regard due to their unbiased, quality news reports, seems to be dumbing down, opting for a more American style.

Being Canadian(with a Portuguese background) it was refreshing to read the 大象传媒 website, to get quality international news.

During the Iraq war the garbage that we seen from CNN or FOX News was horrendous.

Its unfortuante that 大象传媒 has fallen to this level, and all because of a game.

At 01:19 AM on 07 Jul 2006,

Jane wrote:
Through no fault of their own my children find themselves born and bred in England with a Portuguese father. The World Cup and Euro competitions have become times of extreme mixes of emotion for us. The hype begins long before the competition and we are subjected to constant questioning as to which country we will be supporting. That alone is not surprising but what is surprising is the reason for the asking. A few people are magnaminous, intelligent, compassionate enough, call it what you will, to wish those of us who do support Portugal good luck but the majority become hostile and clearly irritated by our presence. This is all evident long before the first game is played, long before any wins or defeats or questions of gamesmanship. Whereas some of us are more than comfortable with wishing our opponent a good tournament, others will refuse to entertain this idea preferring cheap jibes and something along the lines of 鈥渓ets see if you鈥檙e still smiling after the game鈥︹��
We are a decent family with five children, non of whom get into trouble at school who are constantly commended on good behaviour and who consistently obtain above average grades. They all have wide circles of friends. However, following both Euro 2004 and so far during the World Cup some of my children have had to have days off from school because of the incessant hounding following any games that have involved Portugal playing. It doesn鈥檛 matter if Portugal win or lose, children and in some cases teachers have been quick to repeat what they have heard the commentators say. Rarely do you hear a first hand account of any match action. This is what dismays me the most that young children are not surprisingly so influenced by accounts of incidents by commentators and press and yet the likes of the bbc do not seem to grasp the responsibility this puts on them.
Unless viewers watch with the sound switched off they are going to be highly influenced by anything that is being spoken over or around a game. This is not rocket science so why don鈥檛 those commentators, especially those highly respected because of the fact that they represent the bbc, take that responsibility seriously. To sit down excitedly to watch the quarter final and witness within the first few minutes Figo being booed by the predominantly England supporting crowd as he read a statement on anti-racism when Beckham had been given the courtesy to read the same statement uninterrupted, to hear no comment on this fact during or since by any English media is at best ignorant at worst malicious. Whatever Ronaldo has or hasn鈥檛 done he does not deserve the horrendous treatment that he has been subjected to. For heavens sake he鈥檚 a human being. Most of the people booing so vehemently, whatever their nationality, would not treat their enemies in everyday life with as much contempt or hound them with such dogged determination. The trouble is if the commentators let this be broadcast without encouraging any debate on whether it is right or wrong for a fellow human being to be treated with so little respect that is the message they put out to children and adults alike as being acceptable.
Whatever a person has done subjecting them to punishment without a fair trial is wrong and not the way for a civilised society to behave. At school today my 11 year old daughter was in a class that had to divide themselves into teams and give themselves a name. One team announced to the teacher that they wanted to be called the 鈥淲e Hate Ronaldo鈥� team. The teacher allowed this saying 鈥淪o do I鈥�. I can鈥檛 really bare to think how my daughter must have felt at that moment and as I said before this is only one of many constant remarks that we have endured as a family during what could be such a fantastic time of respect and admiration for skill and gamesmanship whether it鈥檚 the kind we鈥檙e used to not. Of course there will be bad play, foul play but if we can not comment on this with an unbiased well informed, humane attitutude then sadly football and it鈥檚 commentating becomes the propagator of much worse misdemeanors. Grow up and think about what you鈥檙e teaching the kids about the game and life in general.

podolski did his job and scored goals, Ronaldo did not, easy choice
where is Rooney on the list, the golden boy, the messiah? and no excuses about injury- you play, you are fit

Ronaldo would have got this award if he didnot resort to persistent foolish diving.

Finally FIFA has done a good job by setting an example ...

Fair Play is a must for getting awards.

I think C. Ronaldo wasn't eligible for this award not because of Rooney incident, but because of his repeated non-touch stupid dives.

I hope this will to some extent remove the diving tendency in talented ambitious players aiming for big name and recognition.

Didn't Podolski run to the ref in the 2nd round match to point out that Teddy Lucic of Sweden was already on a yellow card after a nothing challenge, then the ref smiled as he gave Lucic his 2nd yellow, and Poldi also patted him on the back in a pally way? Where's the gutter press hate campaign for him, eh? That's not Fair Play. I think Lionel Messi would have won the award if he'd played more because he's the most intelligent, skillful player of his age I've ever seen.

As a Manchester United fan, I hope Ronaldo cuts out the cynical stuff and develops a football brain for our benefit and doesn't bugger off to the Madrid Fascists.

England got knocked out because they played caveman football and could not keep possession in the heat nor play killer passes to feet. The most exciting and technical teams in the tournament were Argentina, Ivory Coast and Mexico, but Italy have been a pleasant surprise too. I have also noticed that many non-European nations played with great enthusiasm and got on with the game like men, even after tough tackles, yet they got lots of yellows and reds, which is a bit unfair against the poorer nations.

The Golden Ball should go to Andrea Pirlo- he's been the most consistent performer out there and is a wonderful creative midfielder that can thread passes through the eye of the needle and turn and find space in the most congested midfields. But this type of player doesn't get any praise in England. Instead, headless chickens that score deflected 30-yarders get the experts gushing. If only my countrymen could see beyond the media facade of the Premier League ("The World's Best League") and admire and learn from other football cultures instead of being so insular and continually failing on the World Stage and needing scapegoats like the boy Ronaldo.

Nice to see so many foreign contributors to these blogs with such good English. I'm studying German and French at University and am going to Berlin to study for a year in September, so I expect a good time now after seeing the atmosphere of the WM! Bis bald Deutschland!

The Squad of the Tournament is spot on. It makes a mockery of Alan Shearers claim that only 4 players from the semi-final squads would get into the England team! Just exactly which 7 Italians would you NOT pick, Alan??

For the Squad of the Tournament to have just one English player, John Terry, it goes on to show the extent to which the players under-performed.
I should add that Owen Hargreaves would have been in the 'squad' had he been given more game time in the first place.

It would be a travesty for Ronaldo to have won. He may be tallented but this has been overshadowed by his cheating and cynical behaviour. Germany should be praised for putting on a fantastic event. It is not their fault that teams like Portugal spoiled it with their Contemptuous behaviour. England just spoiled it with their dull, poor performances.

All Portuguese supporters should learn a lesson from Cristiano Ronaldo himself:

Thrive with their hate, rejoice with their pain.

You hear someone say he/she hates Ronaldo? Then feel good about it, as that person is without a doubt still suffering. Hear someone brand Portugal as cheats? Look down on him/her and smile with confidence as your opponent is confirming your victory.

There's only one thing better than beating someone: It's beating someone who can't loose gracefully, as well as doing it over, and over again.

Schweini..yes i followed your link and did vote for italy who have been entertaining. But i have to say that portugal were a close second. Every time i need a laugh i just replay the bbc's collection of portuguese dives, simulations and comic appeals for penalties, free kicks and cards and just roll about laughing. Pure entertainment!

大象传媒 has responsability too in what happened to Cristiano Ronaldo. Your coverage and specially Phil McNulty insulting article about Portugal team deserves a response from the directors of 大象传媒 and journalism board in the UK governemnt. A shame that some of you are helping fueling anti-portuguese feelings. Think about portugueses communities in England before writing comments as Phil McNulty wrote

I have to confess I didn't vote on that pole, I thought it was pointless since FIFA would be chosing the winner anyway. And after all this stupid anti-Ronaldo campaign I thought it would be even more pointless...
My brother (we're from Portugal) did actually voted for Podolsky.

But I have some comments on other blogger's views:

To PhilippTrempnau in #8: 'But as these blogs show, he [Ronaldo] kinda lacks a certain sportsmanship.'

Good to know you base your opinions in other people's views and not in what you actually see or think for yourself.

To john barnes in #34: 'Don't have a TV Channel of you own? Do we moan about your media coverage? No. Take care of your own country.'

First of all I think the treatment you and your family had in Portugal is awful. I won't apolygise because I had nothing to do with it and I don't identify with people who act like that. But regarding your media coverage bit on your comment, yes, we do have a TV Channel, but I (and I can only speak for myself) like to watch other TV channels as well, British ones because I was a student in the UK for 4 years, as well as other countries' because I like to get different views of events (sport-related or not) so I can be as unbiased as possible. I don't know if you moan about our media coverage or not, but I'm also not sure if you even bother to check it at all, so...

And finally to jonathan in #47: 'Podolski did his job and scored goals, Ronaldo did not, easy choice.'

eerrh... Ronaldo did score 1 goal, against England, how could you have missed that? Anyway, the best player award goes to the players who scores more goals? That means no defenders or midfielders and especially goalies can ever ever ever win that award? oh, peleeease...

Have we not watched mr,Figo dive,whinge and complain for years.What a role model for an up and coming footballer.Rooney deserved to get sent to the line.His thuggish behaviour passes for commitment and passion in a league increasingly relying on such behaviour.He will make a great replacement for the departed Shearer.

patricia..a penalty doesn't count as a goal I'm afraid!

podolski just score 1 more goll that ronaldo

but a bigger fact is that ronaldo was more influente for portugal that the german case

but remember WC is in germany...

the award stays with podolski, congratulations

i still see some lines talking about rooney and ronaldo...

here it is a difference:
a few years ago rooney and ronaldo were kinda close but now... ronaldo grew up while rooney stays with childish behaviour

now who desesves a lesson?

I seem to remember Steven Gerrard blatantly diving to win a penalty against Uruguay before the World Cup. Was there any criticism then? Oh no...not one bit. But then again he's English not Portuguese. Pathetic.

Thank you Bruno for your lesson in 'Non Childish' behaviour

It was nice to see the young player of the WC2006 handshaking the ref after Germany got a free-kick against Portugal. Thank God he did't wink, otherwise the audience would've turned on him, surely!

Ronaldo deserved the award? So we should award players who repeatedly fake injuries and dive?
When all is said and done, part of being BEST young player, should include fair play. Throwing yourself to ground in game after game which we saw lots of against England, France and even Germany should be more than enough to instantly take him off the list.
Did he play well? Sure. But it was overshadowed constantly by him throwing himself to the ground and instantly waving his arms and appealing.
Podolski didnt spend half his time rolling around appealing for free kicks and penalties.

P.S. Did you hear about the latest Portuguese football corruption scandal? Its been claimed that certain players were paid off. FIFA are investigating any odd behaviour, the first one of their players that doesnt instantly go to ground will be taken in for questioning.

Ronaldo should not deserve the award. He dives, cheats and is spoiling football at such a young age. I reckon he should leave man utd and play in italy where they all dive! I sound like an old grumpy git but i'm 16 and a gooner!

Ronaldo should not deserve the award. He dives, cheats and is spoiling football at such a young age. I reckon he should leave man utd and play in italy where they all dive! I sound like an old grumpy git but i'm 16 and a gooner!

i really don't find anything wrong with podolski winning but what's all this noise about fair play, fair play. of course, fair play is important but what happened to zidane in the finals? he lunged his head into someone's abdomen and won the golden boot award.
so, ronaldo dives.since when did that determine whether the player has a great potential to be a great star? i thought that was what the young player award was all about.
roony is seen as the best english young star but has a temperament of a romario..... and did romario not also win an award some years back? fair play. we blame ronaldo for causing roony to get a red card.