Topic: UEFA Champions League 2022/23 Season - page 728. (Read 92690 times)

With the presence of Erling Haaland in the team I will be expecting Manchester City to win the champions league this season or the next season. At this point they have everything they need to win the trophy, they have very talented and experienced players, the have one of the best coaches, a lethal striker who can score many goals and they possess good team work so the team is good enough to win the trophy.

The chances are very small, talking about the World Cup there are still many other countries that are also favorites and are also related to the Champions League, PSG is still quite difficult to reach the semifinals this season, Messi does not benefit from being at PSG , because the performances displayed are very inconsistent like in Barcelona, not yet again talking about teammates who don't get along and are too selfish, like the rumors circulating against the MNM trio.
Based on these considerations, I think Messi's chances of getting the Ballon d'Or are very small.

There are several reasons why Real Madrid has always been a team capable of entering the Semi-Finals, Finals and Champions.

First: Statistically they do have great players in the squad, but this is not the only reason, because in other clubs there are also many great players, but not as capable as Real Madrid.
Second: Real Madrid's mentality is not the same as other clubs, so even under pressure they can adjust and be able to come out victorious, although the role of the coach cannot be ignored in such conditions, at least this is what we have seen from the previous few seasons.
Third: They play more focused on teamwork, resulting in a squad that has a vision of play and responsibility, all the existing players have an important role and are able to have an impact on their attack, which is why Ronaldo was able to score 450 goals, during his time with Real Madrid.
Real Madrid has a winning mentality, which is something that other teams rarely have.

Yes, indeed, the selection of the Ballon D'or award is not so objective because it is based on voting, which we know for sure that it will not run completely by the voters judging from the quality of the players they choose. Although not all of them, but I'm sure there will be those who choose because they are based on liking or being fans of the players they choose. But this time it seems Benzema is widely agreed by everyone that he deserves this award.

La Liga is much more competitive than the Bundesliga. So it doesn't look like Levandowski will regret joining Barcelona. Also, I don't think Levandowski's performance is too weak. He is playing well. But overall Barcelona's performance is not good. But I believe Barcelona will be able to solve their problems quickly. And their performance will be more stable.

Lewandowski's decision to prefer to leave Bayern Munich must have been thought out carefully and thoughtfully. So I didn't think that he would regret his decision, moreover there was no point in regretting it because he couldn't change his decision. Yes maybe there will be something missing for him, but it doesn't matter in my opinion because he also feels the competition is more challenging than the Bundesliga.

Benzema has upgraded himself a lot after Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid. In about ten years, Ronaldo was considered as a main source of goals for Real Madrid and he received a lot of ball, key passes and opportunities from Benzema and other players. Benzema sacrificed himself for Ronaldo and for Real Madrid. But in the last 4 seasons, he is a main goal source for them. With all skills he developed in previous seasons, he became a more dangerous player when returning back to a striker position. In fact, Benzema is more than a striker.

For audience, fans, it is not too important but for players, it is. Because it is one of biggest recognition for their performance in a year (previous rules) or in a single season (new rules for this one). Nothing can be fair and correct completely but if a player wins Ballon D'or, it is a very big achievement.

I believe that if PSG win Champions League in this season and Arghentina win World Cup later this year, Messi again will be called for Ballon D'or, the eighth for him.

I definitely agree that it will be way more interesting now in the coming years who will win the Ballon D'or now that both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has reached an age where they both are definitely past their prime. In the last ten years or so it was really boring because most of the time the award just switched between those two players.
That being said, for me the Ballon D'or is not really that important and i also think the voting system for the Ballon D'or is not fair, because it is done by journalists from each country and those votes are not very objective in a lot of cases. Like in 2021 for example it should have definitely be Lewandowski who should have won it but it was Messi again even though he played an average season.

It is clear that it is impossible to change the past and we must look forward. But I think you will agree that Barcelona is close to being titleless this season and it will be a very unusual situation for Lewandowski as he is used to getting at least the German championship every season + scoring a lot of Champions League goals until the late stages tournament. Given Lewandowski's age, I don't think he won't regret that one of the last years of his great career went like this.

Messi wasn't on the list this year because he didn't deserve it, he wasn't himself last season but this season he's on another form and would definitely make the list and might probably win it again if his side in the national team wins the FIFA world cup and PSG wins the champions league, his individual performance will get him the win if both competition aren't won. Both achievement aren't impossible as his side in both competition are capable of winning both tournament.


The fact that Real Madrid is consider an underdog always surprise me. In those matches they play, all were less experience them Real Madrid both on and off the field. This season as well, Real Madrid might silence those not considering them favourite. For a competition you have won 14th times I think you should be favorite even when you're off form. Real Madrid don't play champions league to compete, they play to win.

Them and other top side are at advantage of lifting this year trophy. Where others have brilliant individual prayers, Real Madrid has both the individual players and experience that the other team will be lacking.

Real Madrid have a mental steel, they were able to get out of the pessimism that was initially not too superior to other top-top teams. in this season too, Real Madrid is not the most favorite team because the current trend of hype is more on Manchester City and PSG.

Speaking of Bayern Munich, I like their style of play.
Nagelsmann is again fiddling with his strategy, he is a very outstanding young coach. if Bayern Munich had pure Strikers, I believe they are strong candidates to be tough opponents for other top teams.  unfortunately, Bayern does not have a pure striker so that the players must be ready to rotate according to the needs of the team when going into action.
apart from all that, Bayern, Real Madrid, Man City, PSG, they are sure to qualify for the next phase

Benz as people from my side calls him us a great team player. I remember when it wasn't his time, he was the striker but also working for Ronaldo. He didn't complain but was playing and learning more and more. Even when Ronaldo left Real didn't believe in him to lead the team. They instead went for Haaland who didn't live upto expectations. At the end everything fell back to Benzema and I am very happy for him and his team spirit.

Benzema deserves this award even at the age of 34 but Benzema still performs optimally in every match. and perhaps Benzema is the second oldest Ballon d'Or winner after Stanley Matthews, the first oldest who also won the award in the 1956 edition. At that time Stanley Matthews was 41 years old when he received the award.
I think this award will be the most beautiful gift for Benzema.

Yes, Benzema is a talented striker that know how to achieve victory that will bring celebration at the end of the match. He really deserved this award, because he performed well through out last season that made them to eliminate mighty Manchester city with many goals to embraced the title. I think, Real Madrid will never forget potential player like Benzema in their history book, because he has helped the team to achieved many titles that made the team the best team in UEFA champions league with the help of Benzema.

@herurist   @Oneandpure  @EdenHazard
So do I, very pessimistic about qualifying for the next round. Juventus will face Benfica and PSG in the last two matches, so the chance is very small.
Although Juventus may win against Benfica, in the last match they will fight against PSG, can they beat PSG? If they are able to, this is exactly very good luck. 

I am really waiting for the match between Barcelona vs Bayern, this will be another exciting match to watch. After losing to Real Madrid in El Classico,  will Barcelona rise and be able to turn things around and win from Bayern? Nothing is impossible, but both have strong motives that make the outcome of this match still difficult to predict. This will not be easy for Barcelona and also Bayern itself.

Benzema deserves all the accolades he’s getting, fans are showering him love all over social media. Benzema is a hard worker, for about four seasons Karim Benzema has been the pillar of Real Madrid team, his contributions and consistency is equal to none. We have seen how he has helped the team in so many ways on and off the pitch, staying strong during trying and tough times and above all staying loyal to the club. He indeed deserves this and I believe he will cherish and love this moment for the rest of his life.

Nope, Platini has won it 3 times as well. If we go deeper into the history books, we'll probably find other French players that did win it too.

I agree on the other point though - although there's new talent emerging (especially Haaland and Mbappe), I feel we'll never see the dominance that Ronaldo and Messi showed again.
Between these 2, they have 12 wins and 11 2nd places.

Benzema did his best to win this award, he deserves it sincerely. If this award was given to any other player asides him then it’ll be a big shame in the history of football whereby speculations are already there that Lewandowski was denied last year for it. Benzema is an icon now in Real Madrid just like Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s willing to retire in Real Madrid. I still see the potential in him this season and I’m sure he’ll be amongst the best player this season again.


Lewandowski is a fantastic player as well. Although he may not be in top form right now, I think he can improve depending on how well his team does this season. Even though he may be getting older, Barcelona nonetheless signed him since he still has the physical attributes necessary for playing. He can do better, but I also don't think he will win the Ballon d'Or this year.

Despite being overshadowed by other great players, Benzema, who still plays in Real Madrid and decorates this game with Ballon D'or, deserved this award more than enough.  I think all the other football players who attended the ceremony knew about this award.  It would definitely be unfair if this award was given to any player other than Benzema.

Since 2008, we have seen only Luka Modric as a different player than Messi and Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or. But it was until Benzema also won it this year. Real Madrid won the Champions League title thanks to Benzema's priceless help last season. It wouldn't still be enough no matter how much Real Madrid become grateful for his performance. That must be like his best season since he joined Real Madrid and he won the Ballon d'Or by working hard.

I wonder if Lewandowski will be able to win it too before retiring from football. I wonder if he missed that chance by signing for Barcelona or maybe I'm prejudiced about this. It doesn't feel like he can win it this season I mean. Haaland might be the closest candidate if he keeps this performance up and Manchester City become champions in the Champions League as well.

Well deserved award for Karim Benzema, in the past seasons he has made quite an exceptional contribution to the team, he is a team player and as well has shown great leadership and professionalism in his stay in the club. He deserves this and I'm happy for him, after many years of playing under the shadows of other great players he finally achieved a milestone in his career.