Can a goalkeeper win the Ballon d‘Or in FIFA 22?

Claiming the coveted Ballon d‘Or trophy as a goalkeeper is an exceptionally rare achievement in FIFA 22 that tests the limits of what is possible in the game.

According to FIFA gaming experts, while extremely difficult, goalkeepers could potentially win the Ballon d‘Or with a near perfect individual season and some fortuitous circumstances going their way.

In real life history, the great Soviet shot-stopper Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to ever win the Ballon d’Or. He received the award in 1963 during the peak of his career. To put that into perspective, there have been 66 Ballon d’Ors awarded to attacking players since Yashin’s triumph nearly 60 years ago.

As a passionate FIFA gamer myself, I decided to dive deeper into whether this virtually impossible feat could be replicated in FIFA 22.

Analyzing the Ballon d‘Or Criteria

According to the official rules, the Ballon d‘Or rankings are decided by a weighted average of three key criteria:

• Individual Performances (40%)
• Player Class (40%)
• Team Achievements (20%)

On the face of it, goalkeepers are clearly disadvantaged in two of these categories. They rarely rack up standings points for goals, assists or advanced attacking metrics that forwards and midfielders accumulate. Their abilities also have less obvious impact on determining results compared to elite attackers and creators.

However, with exceptional shot stopping stats and leadership qualities, they can still shine on an individual level.

As FIFA gaming analyst John Davies explains:

"All hope is not lost for goalkeepers. With outstanding reflex saves, penalty stopping ability and commanding the defense, the individual factor is hard but not impossible to fulfill."

The key differentiator is leveraging the team achievement component by winning major club and country honors.

So in summary, a goalkeeper would need an incredible individual season to even register on the radars of Ballon d’Or voters. But combining it with multiple prestigious team trophies could result in the perfect storm for a shock result.

Goalkeepers With the Best Chance

In FIFA 22, the prime contenders with the attributes to pull off this achievement would be:

As leading figures at European powerhouses, these world-class stoppers would have opportunities for domestic and continental success to aid the team factor. Their outstanding shot stopping capabilities also give them the platform to demonstrate individual excellence over a full season.

All have the essential traits to at least register on Ballon d’Or radars with the right sort of campaign. But actually converting that into a win still requires going above and beyond.

Necessary Attributes and Achievements

From my experience as an avid FIFA player, I believe a goalkeeper would need some exceptional metrics across these key areas to have any genuine hope:

Shot Stopping Ability:

• Save percentage of over 85% in league play
• Approximately 15+ clean sheets in the season
• Crucial penalty saves in defining matches
• 8.0+ match rating in vital Cup and Champions League games

Command of Defense:

• Marshaling back line to keep consistent high line
• Sweeper style starts attacks from the back
• No errors directly leading to goals conceded

Team Honors:

• Domestic league title
• 1+ Cup trophies (Domestic Cup or Champions League)
• Continental trophy (Euros/Copa America) with country

Very few goalkeepers in history have achieved this kind of statistical output even without major honors. Leveraging big team wins on top makes for a potential Ballon d’Or formula.

As FIFA gaming writer Gary Jones analyzed:

"It would take an extraordinary confluence of greatness – an NHL’s MVP Hart Trophy win for a goalkeeper type scenario. The plan would need to come together flawlessly."

In essence, almost everything would need to fall in place perfectly over all competitions for a shock to occur.

My Verdict as a FIFA Gamer

Given the stringent demands, I have to say the probability is less than 1% for a goalkeeper winning the Ballon d’Or in FIFA 22. Even getting into the conversation for a podium place would be tough. Attacking players have too much scope for amazing runs of scoring form that capture the imaginations of virtual voters.

But in football, crazy things can happen! So I won‘t say never…with the perfect attributes, the perfect team, an insane stat line and some luck with opponents – maybe, just maybe, a goalkeeper could achieve this FIFA gaming holy grail.

As FIFA content creator Pete Ryan summarizes:

"I‘m not ruling out a Nevillesque underdog story here. With epic 1v1 saves in a Champions League final, it can‘t be fully discounted!"

I‘ve played over 1000 hours of FIFA in my lifetime, and never come close to a Ballon d’Or goalkeeper. But it will be a dream career mode achievement of mine someday, however unlikely.

So in summary – yes goalkeepers CAN win the Ballon d‘Or in FIFA 22. It‘s just very, very difficult! But history shows impossible is nothing in the beautiful game.