Lyon Coach Gerard Houllier has hit out at the decision to award the 2006 Golden Ball to Fabio Cannavaro. “It’s a scandal,†he declared.
The official announcement of the world champion’s victory will take place this evening in Paris.
The defender will become the fourth Italian player to win the prestigious trophy, following Gianni Rivera in 1969, Paolo Rossi in 1982 and Roberto Baggio in 1993.
“Compared to other players he certainly didn’t deserve to win,†claimed Houllier.
“He played a great World Cup, but not a great season. Personally I would have given it to Gianluigi Buffon,†added the tactician, whose side held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw in their latest Champions League Group E tie.
“It’s a scandal and the thing that bothers me most is that Thierry Henry, a player who has been scoring 20 goals a season for years now and appeared in two finals in the last season, was not even taken into consideration, there was a negative campaign around him.â€
“As to Cannavaro, you only need to look at what John Carew managed to do against him in the Champions League – watching that game you understand that Cannavaro’s win is an abominable result,†concluded Houllier.
Football Italia