Home stretch. Sunday, the votes for the Ballon d’Or France Football 2021 will be officially closed. And while Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema have spoken extensively in recent weeks occupying the media space, Jorginho (29) has also revived the machine with a long interview given to the Telegraph. Timing well chosen since the metronome of Chelsea and Italy has just scored a double, on penalties, against Malmö (4-0, 3rd day of the Champions League).
Legitimate favorite if we stick to his record this season (Champions League, European Supercup, Euro 2020 and UEFA player of the year), the international azzurro (40 caps, 5 goals) supported his candidacy. That of modesty and daydreaming. “It’s hard not to think about the Ballon d’Or because everyone talks about it and tells me that I deserve it, which I appreciate a lot. But I try not to think about it too much so that I don’t lose sight of the important things that we are fighting for. I’m just trying to wait and see what happens ”, he first launched before continuing.
A resolutely collective discourse
“If I had to choose one word to describe all of this, I would say unreal. Because my dream was just to be a professional footballer. Things just happened and I kept believing in it and working really hard. (…) I come from so far. From a very small town. And being able to claim it is already super hard and rare. I had to travel the world, completely change my life since I was 15 to find myself here, with all these things happening, it’s just incredible ”, he confided, playing the card of emotion. “If possible, I would like my mother to be at the ceremony with me. I have no idea what her reaction would be if I win, but she would definitely cry! It would be unforgettable, fantastic ”, he blurted out.
Without putting himself too much forward, the former Neapolitan would not trade any of his collective titles for the most prestigious of individual distinctions. “Without the collective, the individual rewards would not come. So how can I put the individual before the team? I can’t, because without the team none of this would have been possible, it would never have happened. So, collective titles are obviously the most important ”, he concluded. The candidacy of humility. The right strategy to win? Answer on November 29, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in Paris.
