The Effect of Spain at the Ballon d'Or

With the Ballon d'Or ceremony on the horizon, I am going to take a look at the impact of La Liga on the recent d'Or winners and runners up. This year it is no surprise as Messi, Xavi and Ronaldo occupy the top three, only Iniesta would cause a difference in opinion. But with all three currently playing their football in the Spanish top division, there is no denying that this league creates world beaters.

There have been many therioes on why so many players from this league have been nominated in the last few years. A cynic's opinion is that La Liga is not as competitive as say the Premier League, thus creating an easier platform for the players to show their talent. But this is not true as I guarerentee you if you put any of the top three placed players this year into any team, they would continue to produce their usual level of excellence. This is because it is not the opponents they are facing that makes them stars, but it's the sheer competiveness within each one of them and in the players surrounding them.

Another theory is that Spain have the best youth academies, therefore creating the best players. A theory with a strong case as last year La Masia were credited with training all three finalists. Madrid also boast a fine youth academy.

The majority of the winners themselves have not actually been Spanish though with only one Spaniard ever taking the award home. That being Luis Suárez of Barcelona in 1960. A stat that might not be true if a certain Argentinian wasn't currently gracing a football field.

One of the most impressive facts is that in the last ten years, six of the winners have come from either Barcelona or Real Madrid. Maybe even more impressive is that in the last fourteen years, a La Liga player has been present in the top three. Excluding the 2003 award which was dominated by Italy.

La Liga has shown no signs of slowing down either. As it stands, Italy have produced the highest number of winners with 16 followed by Spain's 14, rising to 15 after Monday's ceremony. Some may argue that Serie A should be credited with the most effective league accolade, but with no Serie A winners in the last four years it seems La Liga is in line for a takeover.

More promising signs are that it's not just these three of four players from La Liga that are dominating the leaderboard. There were eveleven of them in last year's top thirteen alone. Also with stars such as Fàbregas returning to Spain that number is sure to grow.

Perhaps last year's Champions League is enough evidence to convince anyone. Barcelona easily won the final, simply outclassing rivals Manchester United. Many commenting that Barça's toughest test came in the semi final when they were paired aganist bitter rivals Real Madrid. A team that would've surely reached the final themselves if they had avoided a semi final Clásico.

The constant production of Ballon d'Or candidtaes has become one of Spain's main selling points for overseas stars. Players such as Ronaldo, Henry, Beckham and Ronaldinho have all enhanced their career with periods in Spain. The league will continue to attract players of the highest quality, the latest being Gareth Bale, as La Liga creates a style which is perfect for stars to perform. Wether it be by playing games at night because of the cooler conditions or because the top teams are occupied by players of the best quality with the ability to bring the best out of any player. As the appeal and the quality of their youth academies lasts, the Ballon d'Or shortlist will continue to be dominated by the Spanish super league.