Does the fairytale end with the Ballon d’Or? The no-name among the superstars

The list of 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or is out – and it’s causing a stir. While stars like Jamal Musiala are missing, Artem Dovbyk is a surprising name in the select group. But the Ukrainian has arguments on his side.

It has been 20 years since a Ukrainian, the legendary Andriy Shevchenko, won the Ballon d’Or. Now Artem Dovbyk is following in the footsteps of the national hero. A top placing for the 27-year-old would be a sensation. But when it comes to his position and his goal-scoring instinct, he is pretty close to the former Milan legend.

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The centre-forward, who moved from FC Girona to Roma this summer for 30.5 million euros and now plays alongside Mats Hummels, is particularly good at one thing: the sometimes very simple, but often very tricky art of scoring goals.

Anyone looking for arguments as to why Artem Dovbyk is on the list for the Ballon d’Or will quickly find them. Actually, just a look at the top scorer list of the Spanish La Liga from the previous season is enough. After only world stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski were named top scorer in recent years, in 2023/24 it was the previously relatively unknown Artem Dovbyk.

The 27-year-old’s star rose just as quickly and unexpectedly as that of Girona FC. With 24 La Liga goals, he overshadowed stars like Robert Lewandowski and Jude Bellingham and secured the top scorer trophy. He also underlined his importance to the team with eight assists. Girona did not win a title at the end of the year, but the team finished the league in a sensational third place. Girona has never been as good as it was with Dovbyk as a target player in its 94-year history.

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However, anyone who sees the 1.89 meter tall striker as a pure goal machine is making a mistake, according to Jordi Gratacos. “He is characterized by his physical strength, but we often tend to think that he will be neither technically good nor precise in his actions. He combines both,” said the former head of the Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk youth academy, where Dovbyk was active.

Dovbyk can also “go into the space, look for the third man – and do so with great technical skill.” In addition to his excellent numbers, the fairytale story of Girona may also have contributed to his nomination. Dovbyk was also able to qualify for the European Championship with the war-torn Ukraine. In the playoff match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, the center forward scored an important goal.

The 27-year-old is a classic late starter and had to struggle with failures, especially at the beginning of his career. Dovbyk played as a youth in his hometown of Cherkassy before joining the then third division club Cherkaskyi Dnipro in 2014 at the age of 17. He was subsequently unable to survive in the Ukrainian first division and was loaned to the Moldovan club FC Zaria.

Although he won the championship in Denmark with FC Midtjylland, he tore his cruciate ligament and only scored one goal himself. Consequently, he returned to Ukraine in 2020, where the center forward’s career finally took off. He scored 54 goals in 86 games for SK Dnipro-1 and was named top scorer twice. He has also recently scored at will in the Spanish league – and now wants to prove this at the traditional Italian club AS Roma.

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The list of candidates for the Ballon d’Or has sparked controversial discussions. These do not refer to Dovbyk himself, but to top players who did not make it onto the list. The most prominent example from a German perspective is Jamal Musiala. “Jamal was one of the outstanding players at the European Championships,” complained Eberl, describing the 21-year-old as one of the “most fascinating players in international football with absolutely extraordinary, unique skills.”

Real star Rodrygo was also left out, expressing his displeasure with a collage on Instagram. The pictures show the Brazilian with the Champions League, LaLiga and Spanish Supercopa trophies, among others, as well as celebrating a goal against FC Bayern.

• Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)
• Ruben Dias (Manchester City/Portugal)
• Phil Foden (Manchester City/England)
• Fede Valverde (Real Madrid/Uruguay)
• Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa/Argentinien)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
• Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao/Spain)
• Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen/Schweiz)
• Artem Dovbyk (Girona, now AS Roma/Ukraine)
• Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, now retired/Germany)
• Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/Brazil)
• Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig, now FC Barcelona/Spain)
• Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen/Germany)
• Martin Ödegaard (Arsenal FC/Norway)
• Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund, now AS Roma/Germany)
• Rodri (Manchester City/Spain)
• Harry Kane (FC Bayern Munich/England)
• Declan Rice (FC Arsenal/England)
• Vitinha (Paris St. Germain/Portugal)
• Cole Palmer (FC Chelsea/England)
• Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid/Spain)
• Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona/Spain)
• Open Sugar (FC Arsenal/England)
• Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan/Türkiye)
• William Saliba (Arsenal FC/France)
• Kylian Mbappé (Paris St. Germain, now Real Madrid/France)
• Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/Argentina)
• Ademola Lookman (Atalanta Bergamo/Nigeria/England)
• Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/Germany)
• Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen/Spain)