Do We Still Need the Ballon d'Or?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Back in 1956, Gabriel Hanot - the chief football writer for the magazine France Football - asked colleagues from across Europe to vote for their player of the year. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By the time the numbers had been counted up, Blackpool’s Stanley Matthews had narrowly beaten Real Madrid’s Alfredo Di Stefano by three votes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fast forward 70 years and that award, the Ballon d’Or, is still celebrated year on year, voted for by journalists from around the world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But with the Coronavirus pandemic raging on, the 2020 iteration of the Ballon d’Or has been cancelled.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Without the glitz and glamour of the awards ceremony to dazzle us, in this episode, we ask: do we still need the Ballon d’Or in 2020?</span></p> <p>Guest:</p> <p>Sam Tighe (<a href= "https://twitter.com/stighefootball">@stighefootball</a>) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a football journalist who can be found on Bleacher Report and the Ranks FC podcast.</span></p> <p>Support Us:</p> <p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/FootballToday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.patreon.com/FootballToday</a></p> <p>Follow Us:</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/FT_Podcast_" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">@FT_Podcast_</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.footballtodaypodcast.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.FootballTodayPodcast.com</a></p> <p>Music:</p> <p>The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by <a href="http://www.sessions.blue/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Blue Dot Sessions</a>.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cicle Gerano by Cicle Kadde</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Careless Morning by Glacier Quartet</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Green Room by Warmbody</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Izeah by Moon Juice</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hickory S