Perhaps there's something in the notion of a lucky Shamrock. Thirteen years on from making his Real Madrid debut in a friendly against Shamrock Rovers, Karim Benzema is the world player of the year, a richly deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo who topped the bill at a jam-packed Tallaght Stadium in July 2009, having joined Madrid from Manchester United, but substitute Benzema was the matchwinner that night, a late goal delivering a 1-0 victory for Los Blancos.
He kept winning, and winning some more, even when others took the spotlight, but the winning has been almost unrelenting. And that has been the theme of his career.
Benzema had won four Ligue 1 titles with Lyon before, at the age of just 21, he earned himself a move to Madrid, where he has won five Champions League titles, four LaLiga crowns, four FIFA Club World Cups, four European Super Cups, four Spanish Supercopas, and two Copa del Rey winner's medals.
Now 34-year-old Benzema is harvesting the personal acclaim, having long played the patient consort to the garlanded Ronaldo and, even, Gareth Bale.
As he ascends to this particular throne, Stats Perform has looked at how Benzema reached such a high point, and what the Ballon d'Or result means in wider terms.
Brilliant Benz merks his rivals
This time it had to be him. The Karim of the crop. Last year, it was hard to distinguish what was more embarrassing: the constant campaigning for Benzema to take the Ballon d'Or by Real Madrid luminaries past and present, or the fact Lionel Messi took the prize again, ahead of Robert Lewandowski.
Messi's seventh Ballon d'Or felt like a long-service award. Benzema's triumph is both that, and a reflection of the greatest season of his career.
The Ballon d'Or rules shifted this year, with the time span set from August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, rather than the calendar year.
In that time, Benzema, more often than not as captain, hit 44 goals in 46 games, with his shot conversion rate at a career high of 24.18 per cent.
He scored 27 of those goals in 32 LaLiga games to earn his first Pichichi – the award that goes to the league's leading scorer – and in doing so led Madrid to the title.
Messi won the Pichichi eight times, while Ronaldo took it on three occasions, with Luis Suarez (2015-16) the only other player to lay his hands on the trophy in the seasons from 2009-10 to 2020-21.
Benzema's league goals came at a rate of one every 96.15 minutes, which he has bettered only once in Spain (2015-16: 24 goals in 27 games, one goal every 83.04 minutes). Significantly, he was a provider in the league too, weighing in with a career-best 12 assists.
His 15 Champions League goals in Madrid's glorious campaign came from 12 games, at one goal every 73.73 minutes. He vastly surpassed his expected goals tally of 8.2, the metric that reflects the quality of a player's chances and likelihood of scoring.
He has made a career of exceeding expectations. When he made a €35million switch from Lyon all those years ago, not even Benzema could have imagined he would be peaking in his mid-thirties.
Benzema also drew level with Raul's haul of 323 goals for Madrid last season, going joint-second on the club's all-time list, behind only Ronaldo (450).
Second place has since become Benzema's outright, with the goals still coming. He probably won't catch Ronaldo, but he might not be far behind.
No longer a young man's game?
With Benzema landing the award just two months before he turns 35, it is another example of the younger generation not yet doing enough to challenge the old guard.
The last player aged under 30 to win the Ballon d'Or was Messi, who took the 2015 award.
Kylian Mbappe might have been a reasonable shout this time around, if Paris Saint-Germain had not perished against Madrid and Benzema in last season's Champions League, but the other serious challengers were on the top side of 30: the likes of Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Next year is likely to be a different story, with Mbappe and Manchester City's Erling Haaland surely pushing for the trophy. The World Cup could also be impactful on the 2022-23 vote, and Qatar 2022 might yet bring Benzema more glory with France.
End of an era as the GOATs go out to pasture
This year's 1-2-3 was conspicuously lacking in GOATs. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo made the podium, which is the first time that has occurred in Ballon d'Or voting since the 2006 awards.
In fact, there have been 11 occasions when both have been in the top three, such has been their preeminence.
Messi has had 13 podium finishes and seven wins, just edging Ronaldo's 12 podiums and five awards.
Four of Ronaldo's awards came while a team-mate of Benzema at Madrid. While the Portugal great made the shortlist this time around, finishing 20th, Messi did not, and it might be a stretch to expect either man to threaten a top-three result again.
Yamal: Reaching Messi's level will be 'impossible'
Lamine Yamal said that it would be impossible to reach Lionel Messi’s level during his career, despite having been through an incredible breakout season.
The 17-year-old made 37 league appearances for Barcelona last season and was thrust further into the public eye as he helped Spain win Euro 2024 in Germany.
Yamal, who was 16 for much of the tournament having celebrated his birthday before the final, swept the boards at the competition, winning Young Player of the Tournament, Goal of the Tournament and was also named in the Team of the Tournament.
The teenage sensation also laid on four assists in seven appearances over the summer and has made a decent start to the 2024-25 season as one of Barcelona’s main men.
In four LaLiga appearances, he has scored once and supplied four assists, with his 11 chances created a total only bettered by team-mate Raphinha (12) and Vinicius Junior (15) in the division.
Such form and media attention has led to inevitable comparisons with footballing legend Messi, who made his competitive debut for Barcelona at 17.
The Argentine went on to score over 600 goals for the club across 17 seasons, winning 34 trophies, while he came to be widely considered as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
But Yamal has been quick to reject the comparison between himself and his Argentinian predecessor, claiming that although he enjoys the comparisons, it is not possible to reach the standards he set.
“I like that they compared me to the greatest player in the history of football, but I want to be myself,” Yamal told Spanish TV station Antena 3.
“Reaching Messi’s level is impossible.”
Despite Yamal’s understandable suggestion that he will be unable to reach the same heights as Messi, the winger still showed his self-confidence in the interview.
Somewhat bizarrely, he was pictured as a six-month old baby with Messi in a charity calendar in 2007, with photos having since gone viral.
Speaking about the experience, the teenager joked that he was able to pick up some of his footballing ability through Messi.
“He passed along some of his powers to me. I still have a lot to give,” said Yamal.
Despite being just 17 years old, Yamal has already played 55 times for Barcelona and, having made such an impression on world football over summer, interest from other clubs is an inevitability.
Yamal’s contract with Barcelona runs until 2026, with a reported release clause of £1bn, while sporting director Deco is keen to renew it when he turns 18.
But the teenager has made clear that he has no desire to leave the Catalan giants, wanting to remain with them for the rest of his career.
“I don’t want those €120m [bids] because then I would have to leave Barca,” said Yamal.
“I hope to never have to leave. I want to be a legend.”
Tullis-Joyce ready to take Man Utd mantle after Earps departure
Phallon Tullis-Joyce believes learning from Mary Earps during her time at Manchester United has her well-placed to step up as the Red Devils' new number one.
Earps, who spent five seasons with United, joined Paris Saint-Germain in July upon the expiry of her contract at the Women's Super League side.
During her time with the Red Devils, she made 102 appearances in all competitions, keeping 46 clean sheets in the WSL in that time.
The 31-year-old scooped the Golden Glove in the 2022-23 campaign, while also helping United lift the Women's FA Cup in her final season with the club.
Tullis-Joyce spent just one year alongside Earps after arriving from the Seattle Reign last year, with all four of her appearances coming in the League Cup.
But speaking at the Barclays WSL's 2024-25 season launch media day, the American told Stats Perform her time with Earps has her well-prepared for this season.
"I was fortunate enough to train with Mary for an entire season, learn from her, learn from the staff as well," Tullis-Joyce said.
"Four of us together just being able to hold a high standard has already helped me in that preparation for this season."
Head coach Marc Skinner is backing Tullis-Joyce to fill the seismic gap left by Earps, a statement that filled the American with confidence.
"Yeah, definitely very, very grateful to our staff," Tullis-Joyce started.
"I mean, right from the start, when I got there, they were very clear about their intentions and where I was at and where they wanted to see me progress to.
"I'm just super happy to be with the squad."
United are looking to improve on an underwhelming campaign last year, finishing fifth and 15 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.
Only Manchester City (15), Chelsea (18), Arsenal (20) and Liverpool (28) conceded less than United's 32 goals in the league, but their inconsistent results proved costly.
Tullis-Joyce acknowledged their showing last term fell below the mark, but highlighted the Red Devils' FA Cup success as a solid foundation to build on this season.
"We're taking this step by step," Tullis-Joyce said.
"These players have been grinding it out during this pre-season.
"We're pushing our limits, and we obviously have our sights set on the absolute best that we can perform as a squad and that's where we're at for the season."
Howe says Newcastle yet to hit 'top gear' ahead of Wolves trip
Eddie Howe believes Newcastle are yet to hit "top gear" this season despite taking seven points from their first three Premier League games, as they look to continue that strong start against Wolves at Molineux.
Newcastle made light of Fabian Schar's red card to beat Southampton on the opening matchday, then downed Tottenham 2-1 after earning a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
Those results have the Magpies fifth in the early-season standings, yet Howe still sees room for improvement as far as their performance levels are concerned.
Newcastle have faced a Premier League-high 54 shots in 2024-25, with their average of 18 shots conceded per game their highest on record in a single campaign (since 2003-04).
At Friday's pre-match press conference, Howe said: "We've had some very good results, we're really pleased with the start we have made in what is a difficult league.
"Performance-wise, we haven't hit top gear. We are going into a spell where we have difficult games away from home.
"It's been a very tough start for Wolves. They played very well in their last game against Nottingham Forest.
"They're always tough opponents, I've got lot of respect for Gary O'Neil and the job he has done there. He is very tactically astute so we will be prepared for a tough game."
Wolves, meanwhile, needed three games to pick up their first point of the season in a 1-1 draw with Forest, having opened with defeats to Arsenal (2-0) and Chelsea (6-2).
Boss O'Neil expects a difficult test against a team with plenty of attacking talent, hailing Magpies forward Alexander Isak as one of the best in the league.
"They have an abundance of quality attacking players. Isak is one of the best number nines in the league for me, so they are a team that are going to test us, definitely," O'Neil said.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to Molineux, getting back to the group that we know we're going to work with from now until January, at least, and seeing if we can start to upset a few people like we like we managed to last season."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Andre
Wolves harbour a doubt over captain Mario Lemina ahead of Sunday's game, which could mean Andre is called upon for his full debut after joining from Fluminense.
Between his Serie A debut in September 2020 and his departure, Andre ranked first for possession won (756) and successful passes (6,574) in the Brazilian top flight, as well as second for touches (8,440) and fourth for dribbles completed (164).
Newcastle – Alexander Isak
Isak has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 20 Premier League appearances (15 goals, three assists).
Since the first game in that run (on Boxing Day last year), only Erling Haaland (20) and Cole Palmer (17) have scored more than the Swede (15) in the competition.
MATCH PREDICTION – NEWCASTLE WIN
Entertainment should be a given at Molineux, where both teams have scored in all nine previous Premier League meetings between Wolves and Newcastle.
It is the most-played specific fixture in the competition's history to never feature a clean sheet, while Newcastle have only failed to score once in their last 23 Premier League matches – in a 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in April.
No Premier League team is on a longer current run without a shutout than Wolves, meanwhile, with O'Neil's men conceding in each of their last 15 matches.
Wolves have only won one of their last 13 league games, drawing three and losing nine, and are winless in their last six (one draw, five losses). At home, they have lost five of their last six (one win), having only lost four of their previous 19 (11 wins, four draws).
Newcastle have won three of their last five Premier League games against Wolves, drawing the other two, and they enter Sunday's match as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 30.3%
Newcastle – 44.5%
Draw – 25.1%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
