Roma Coach Rudi Garcia says he was ‘thinking of Manuel Neuer’ for the Ballon d’Or, and praises his captain Francesco Totti after the double against Lazio.
Cristiano Ronaldo won his second consecutive FIFA Ballon d’Or today, one day after the 2-2 Derby della Capitale that saw Totti score a brace.
Roma Coach Rudi Garcia says he was ‘thinking of Manuel Neuer’ for the Ballon d’Or, and praises his captain Francesco Totti after the double against Lazio.
Cristiano Ronaldo won his second consecutive FIFA Ballon d’Or today, one day after the 2-2 Derby della Capitale that saw Totti score a brace.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player of 2014 but I was thinking of [Manuel] Neuer,” confessed Garcia in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.
“But the Ballon d'Or must go to the absolute best among the players.”
Totti is among the most prominent Italian strikers never to have won a Ballon d'Or, but the Frenchman thinks little of that statistic.
“The captain is fantastic and he showed it yesterday. I'm glad to have him, even at 38. It's good to Coach such a genius every day in training.
“As for not winning that prize, the Ballon d’Or is just like that. Ronaldo won the Champions League and this probably helped him.
“Maybe Totti could have won it in 2006, when he became world champion. His joy and his desire on the pitch are what matters.
“I know nothing and haven't seen anything regarding the polemics of [Aurelio] De Laurentiis and the referees, I'm here in Switzerland for the Ballon d'Or. I talked with other Coaches like [Carlo] Ancelotti, it's nice to talk without the nervousness of a match.”