The Ballon d’Or and Lewandowski — the 2020 Debate

What remains of an exceptional season when the biggest award is cancelled?

An award is meant to recognise what a player has achieved. Yet the Ballon d’Or vote did not take place in 2020. For YouNr1, that decision was an opportunity to discuss Robert Lewandowski’s season and the standards behind such honours.

The commentary takes a clear position in the striker’s favour. It asks about sporting performance, prominence and recognition. Reading it connects the outrage of that time with a broader question: how would you assess a season without a trophy to guide your judgement?

Unfortunately, the Ballon d’Or will not be awarded in 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis. This is regrettable: for the first time since 1956, no world’s best footballer will receive it.

The decision is particularly painful for Poland’s world-class striker Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern star had justified hopes of winning this season. Why? Quite simply, his performances have steadily risen in recent years from international class to the very highest level. That development is remarkable, given the common view in professional football that players over 30 can only decline. Lewandowski impressively proves the opposite: 34 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches and 13 in seven Champions League appearances put him at the top of world football this season.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the dominant players of the last 15 years, had merely average seasons by their own standards. None of the emerging young stars can currently match the combination of efficiency and playing quality Lewandowski is displaying. Objectively, this could — or should — have been the Pole’s year.

France Football nevertheless decided not to award the prestigious trophy this season. A fair decision? We doubt it. Although most major European leagues paused for weeks, all the top leagues except France’s were completed. The Champions League will also conclude in August as a knockout tournament. Lewandowski’s performances this season are no less valuable than those of Messi and Ronaldo over the last decade.

Would the same decision have been made if Messi or Ronaldo had been dominant as usual? Or is it simply that Lewandowski never achieved comparable international recognition? Particularly in southern European and South American media, which generally favour their own players, it is striking how rarely eastern European players are considered for such awards. In a fair assessment, Lewandowski would undoubtedly have deserved the honour. It would be regrettable if lack of recognition and prejudice prevented it. We can only urge France Football to reconsider.

Even without the award, Robert Lewandowski is undoubtedly the outstanding player of the 2019/20 season worldwide. The numbers speak clearly.