Winner of the Champions League with Chelsea on Saturday night against Manchester City (1-0), French footballer N’Golo Kanté again delivered a high-level performance, making him the man of the match. Since the beginning of the year, the former SM Caen player shines with the Blues. To the point of making him a serious candidate for the Ballon d’Or? Here are three reasons to believe.
“He’s small, he’s nice, he stopped Leo Messi…” Here is a well-known refrain that dates back to three years ago. N’Golo Kanté has been one of the favorites of the French public ever since. Evidenced by the ovation he received during the celebration of the world champions in September 2018 at the Stade de France.
The number 13 of the Blues added, on Saturday, a line to his already sparkling record. He won the Champions League with Chelsea, beating Manchester City (1-0). With, at the end of the day, a huge performance and the title of man of the match. Enough to make him a serious candidate for the Ballon d’Or in mid-season. Here are three reasons that push to distinguish the former player of SM Caen.
1. Its first half of 2021 is huge
N’Golo Kanté is a recovering midfielder who does monumental work on the pitch. Precious, it was put aside by Frank Lampard in the first part of the season. But the former glory of the Blues was fired shortly before 2021, and Thomas Tuchel took over the team. This gave the Frenchman more playing time who, repositioned a little in the midfield, was able to regain the radiance that was his, making him a valuable member of the workforce of the former coach of PSG.
And the results don’t lie. His forward projections, his numerous recoveries as well as his constant harassment on the ball carrier make him a key player in a midfield. Saturday, during the final of the Champions League, he was elected man of the match, thanks in particular to his ten balls recovered, his tackles all successful and his 73.3% of duels won.
But before that, he had won the man of the match trophy in both rounds of the semi-finals against Real Madrid, and again in the knockout matches. What proves the performance of the player who has not necessarily been 100% lately, in a team that took fourth place in the Premier League.
Of course. pic.twitter.com/buaHnC0pRc
— Champions of Europe(@ChelseaFC) May 29, 2021
2. Trophies can weigh
The Ballon d’Or crowns the best player of a season among a panel of voters. And if N’Golo Kanté is appreciated by his teammates, he also impresses his opponents. And some may be jealous of him when they think of his trophy cabinet. Because the former Caennais has a good track record. He discovered the professional world during the 2011-2012 season with Boulogne, during a Ligue 2 match, before a season in National. Then, he joined Caen where he discovered Ligue 1 in 2014, after a season in the second division. This is where he splashes the football landscape with his talent.
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The following season, he joined Leicester and won his first English league title. A great architect of this success with the Foxes, he was recruited by Chelsea and won the title again in 2017. The following year, he won an England Cup and, above all, the World Cup with the Blues, at the end of ‘a competition where he was dazzling, opening the doors to the typical team of the year by Fifa as well as by UEFA.
In 2019, he won the Europa League with Chelsea, the European Supercup, and two years later, therefore, the Champions League. And the latter counts a lot in the ranking of the Ballon d’Or. But he can still do better, with a good course during the Euro with the Blues. A title on July 11 would make him even more of a favorite.
3. In front of him, the competition is less strong
In recent years, the Ballon d’Or has been the business of two men: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Since 2008, the two have stacked the awards. Only Luka Modric came to interrupt their reign in 2018, with a Champions League title with Real Madrid and a World Cup final with Croatia. A dazzling season. And N’Golo Kanté has followed the same path so far, with the European club title. The looming Euro is of great importance for this player, deeply shy, who refuses to put himself forward.
And if he is one of the favorites, it is above all because in the first half of 2021, the two mastodons that are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were less sparkling. Neither the Argentine nor the Portuguese have known the coronation in the league. The former was third with Barça while the latter was fourth with Juventus Turin. Above all, they did not weigh as much as in the past. Enough to open the door to another person who could be Kanté.
Finally, the main rivals could well be French: Kylian Mbappé, who carried the PSG with remarkable performances on the European scene, or even Karim Benzema, who carried the Real and who made one of the best seasons of his career. Once again, the Euro could play a big part in the votes for the award in December.
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N’Golo Kanté, after this first part of the year, can therefore be among the favorites for the Ballon d’Or. If he keeps up the momentum, it would be hard to imagine anyone denying him this distinction.
His position, in the midfield, certainly offers less visibility than for an attacker who connects goals. But his performance on the pitch is such that he makes him a centerpiece in a team. Small, nice, and above all essential.
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