‘Jorginho deserves to win the Ballon d’Or’- Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea midfielder Jorginho ‘deserves to win the Ballon d’Or’ after an incredibly successful season for club and country.
The Brazilian-born Italy international is one of five Chelsea players nominated for the award, alongside fellow teammates Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta and Romelu Lukaku
The 29-year-old midfielder dynamo was instrumental for both club and country after winning the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea at the end of May and in August respectively, before playing a pivotal role in Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph and is among the 30 players longlisted for the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski are the bookmakers’ favourite to win the prestigious award next month, but Tuchel believes Jorginho should be rewarded for his efforts when the winner is announced in Paris on November 29.
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‘Jorginho deserves to win the Ballon d’Or,’ the Chelsea manager said during an appearance at the annual Sports Festival in the Italian city of Trento, according to Football Italia.
‘He’s a very intelligent player and it’s a pleasure to be his coach.’
Only four midfielders – Luis Figo in 2000, Pavel Nedved in 2003, Kaka in 2007 and Luka Modric in 2018 – have won the Ballon d’Or since the turn of the century.
The award has often been criticised for overlooking players with predominantly defensive duties in favour of goalscorers with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominating for a decade.
Tuchel suggested that picking a winner from a longlist of footballers playing in different roles was far from an exact science and it devalued the award.
‘He [Jorginho] has a great vision of football,’ the German added.
‘For me, individual prizes don’t have great significance, it’s impossible to make a real comparison between several players of different roles.
‘I would like one of my players to win it because I would know what the effect would be.’
