Lionel Messi was named as the 2014 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner, but the decision to give the Argentine star the best player of the tournament citation was criticized by known football personalities.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter previously admitted that he was surprised when Messi's name was called up to accept the Golden Ball award, while Argentine football legend Diego Maradona said that the award was just a part of a marketing plan.
But in an interview with Le Monde, Gerard Houllier, a former football manager who is also a member of FIFA's Technical Study Group, said that Messi was a deserving winner because he was able to lead his team to the World Cup final.
"I understand that it has surprised, because everyone only remembers the second half of Lionel Messi in the final," Houllier said via ESPN. "We, the commission, we look at all the games, and we judge that he was the most important man for his team. He went to the final, which is one of the conditions for the attribution of the trophy."
Houllier also pointed out that Messi, who scored four goals in the Brazil tournament, was a huge factor for his team's success in their first four games as well as in the semifinals.
"Moreover, Messi was more than decisive in the first four games. In the semifinal against the Netherlands, he took the first penalty and scored," Houllier said.
Another factor that was considered by the committee was the way Messi served as the glue guy for his team, successful performing the duties of a team captain.
"The analysis also takes into account the fact he was the captain of a united team. A team that played well together. That's something we hadn't seen for a long time from Argentina. He was more than key in the squad and the way it was set up. For me, he fully deserves the Golden Ball," Houllier said.
Netherlands Arjen Robben was also considered for the award, but the Dutch star did not "carry much weight" for his team, according to Houllier, while Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez was also taken out of consideration after Colombia were eliminated in the quarterfinals by host Brazil.
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