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TSN Soccer Analyst

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UEFA President Michel Platini made headlines this week suggesting neither Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi should win the Ballon D'Or award when it is announced in January.

"The Ballon d'Or tends to go to a player who has performed exceptionally well at the World Cup, someone who won it," said The Frenchman. He added: "So this year it should be for a Germany player. It was always that way until 2010 when Leo Messi won despite having a fairly average World Cup, so nothing is for certain."

Platini is a man who has a right to live in the past. After all, his greatest successes, as a player, occurred there.

The problem with living in the past, however, is that you lose sight of what happens in the present. In Platini's case, it seems, this includes the recent past as he adds fuel to the flames around the myth of Messi's 'average' 2010 World Cup.

We should not cast too much of a judgment on the 59-year-old's memory of South Africa 2010, as there is a more significant point to be made here, although for someone who puts so much onus on that tournament you would expect more.

Yet therein lies the real problem.

Platini only spoke about this issue for less than 90 seconds this week but already got himself in a muddle. He went on to use examples of past winners of the award in World Cup years, such as Igor Belanov in 1986 because he had a good World Cup. So, to clarify, it's not just someone who wins it then, Michel?

Of course the award, then, was only eligible for European players, which is why Diego Maradona didn't win it. Messi, of course, in a year when he is now eligible, was named the best player at this year's World Cup.

This all just weakens Platini's argument even more. As UEFA President the last thing he should be doing is using history as a guide to dictate what should happen in the future around an award that is completely different than in the past.

Some feel he wants to generate interest in the award by steering the process away from the inevitable, a battle between the game's best two players, by some margin, Ronaldo and Messi. A similar campaign happened last year when the media portion of the vote incredibly awarded more first place votes for Bayern Munich midfielder, Franck Ribery.

Platini's ideas, though, are archaic and shine a spotlight on an area of the game where identifying the reliance of individual quality is much more difficult.

It is one thing to put the onus on the award based on the World Cup if the club game was significantly behind international football. Yet, as this week as shown, it is the exact opposite in terms of overall quality and entertainment.

It has been an interesting few weeks for club against country debates. Raheem Sterling's tiredness, Diego Costa's hamstring and Don Garber vs Jurgen Klinsmann have been some notable chapters that needed to be told.

The World Cup in Brazil was, undoubtedly, a marvellous month of football, with Germany coming out worthy winners of arguably one of the finest World Cups of all time. Yet, since, the international game has been rapidly forced back on us as nothing more than a distraction of annoyance. Yes, sure, there has been some surprising results at the start of qualifying for a tournament in two years time, but the club game has been left disjointed; frustrated by two large, less than meaningful, international windows before the middle of October full of many games that were nothing more than all-star exhibition games.

Club football was finally pushed back on stage this past week and responded with a bang, highlighting the true top level that the world's greatest players can reach.

Watching the likes of Messi and Ronaldo attempt to reach their peak while playing for their countries is an exhausting exercise. Playing with club teammates they simply generate the relationships they need each week to excel. The international game does not give them this opportunity.

Yet, the popularity of the World Cup, coupled with comments such as Platini's, make people believe that the elite should be at their best when, in fact, the odds are severely stacked against them. It is little wonder countries like Germany and Spain, which specializes in a team philosophy over individual brilliance, has excelled in recent years.

To appreciate the true world class brilliance of the likes of Messi and Ronaldo is to watch them each week for Barcelona and Real Madrid and, in particular, when they grace us with their talents in the Champions League as they did this week.

Ronaldo's finish at Anfield, from a subtle pass by James Rodriguez, simply couldn't happen for Portugal. It was a sensational goal born out of a combination of true understanding and quality.

The same could be said for Messi's goal against Ajax on Tuesday when he ran into space and anticipated a pass that only a true visionary could pull off. Thankfully, for Messi, Andres Iniesta was the maestro who delivered the ball. For Argentina, it would have simply been a run no one else would have seen.

It is the Champions League where such brilliance is highlighted, a tournament that, remarkably, some had the knives out for this week.

As followers of the sport we can be a fickle bunch.

Tuesday's games returned scorelines of 6-0, 0-7 and 1-7, which prompted many to question the competitiveness of the entire tournament.

What a great pity.

We can be guilty of not appreciating things that happen in the immediate. Just ask Platini.

Twenty years ago this week the first legs of the last 16 of the European Cup took place. Reigning Ballon D'Or winner Platini and his Juventus took on Grasshoppers of Zurich over two legs. Lyngby of Denmark, Beveren of Belgium and Linfield of Northern Ireland were amongst the teams in the last 16 of club football's elite competition.

Platini would go on to win the European Cup that year, playing just nine games, most of which were vastly inferior to the Italian champions.

It would be the World Cup that would provide the only showcase for the best players to meet.

Things have changed dramatically since. As consumers of a sport we love, we crave greatness. That it happens infrequently makes it more special. What the likes of Bayern Munich, Ronaldo and Messi continue to do on the biggest club stage of all should not be discounted because it's not in a tournament called the World Cup.

As guardians of history we have a responsibility to future generations to tell stories of greatness and, thanks to the Champions League, we are crucial witnesses to this far more often than those who knew Platini more as a player than the leader of a governing body who is simply out of touch when searching for where the best of the best perform.