Ballon d’or nomination the cherry on the cake for Mahrez and Vardy

It was a quiet, seemingly unreal dream to see a Leicester player pop up in the Ballon d’or shortlist ever, let alone in 2016. Foxes fans had no expectations but after last season’s campaign and the dominance, there was that moment of ‘what if?’. Riyad Mahrez was the first Leicester name to be announced, with Vardy following in the final selection. It was surreal for a moment to see not one, but two of our players on that list, alongside the world’s best like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Footballers worldwide, amateur and professional dream of having a twelve months like Mahrez and Vardy have. Both players are an inspiration but possibly more Vardy when you consider the story of how he got to here. Breaking Premier League goal scoring records, becoming Champions of England, making their Champions League debut and now being nominated for the pinnacle of football awards, a competition won by the best in the world.

So what now for the pair? Looking at Mahrez, you’d have to say that the sky’s the limit. It would have been easy for him to have looked for a move away from the King Power in the summer and it spoke volumes that he decided not to. Yes, this may be our last season of watching the magician, but it’s a pleasure. Ask many Leicester fans of the younger generation and they’ll tell you that he’s probably the best player we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes pull on the shirt. It wouldn’t be heart-breaking to see him depart in the same way, because it’s been a privilege to watch him torment and dance through opposition defences and we’ve been lucky to have held onto him for so long.

He was an unknown prospect when he joined us. Clearly with some raw talent, but a little lightweight, not always the best quality to have in the Championship, which is where Leicester were when he arrived. He joined in January, the Foxes were pushing for promotion under the returned Nigel Pearson and fans didn’t really know what to expect. We got a glimpse of his potential though with his debut goal, a well worked individual effort against Blackpool having dodged a couple of defenders. Yes, he’s been a point of frustration at times because, like a few wingers we’ve had, when they’re not having a good game, they can be a liability. But when he’s on top of his game, well, he’s unplayable. As a few teams discovered last season. The skills and goals he produced along the way were a joy to watch. His hat trick against Swansea was topped by a wonderful curving shot into the back of the net against Chelsea and how much the goal away at Manchester City meant. He was our light, our something special and even as more and more man-marking occurred, he just found new ways to get around them.

It was a sluggish start to this Premier League campaign for the winger, uncertainty over his new contract perhaps a factor, it took him longer to get going. In the Champions League though, Mahrez has excelled, scoring or assisting in every game so far. His goals, be it the free-kick against Bruges, or the karate back heel against Copenhagen, have been fitting for a player of his quality and it’s fantastic to see him enabled to do this on a bigger stage. Now teamed up with Algerian team-mate Slimani, it doesn’t look like there’s any stopping him anytime soon.

Vardy’s start to the season has been quieter than expected, a lack of creativity and supply to him in earlier games this season hasn’t helped and the goals haven’t come as easily as they did last year. We’ve had to adjust our style a little, though as proven against Copenhagen, when we revert to it, he’s still a danger for the opposition. The arrival of Islam Slimani has changed things too, a different kind of player to add to our striking options, coupled with the factor of more games, it means Vardy won’t be so heavily relied upon. The goals will come again though for him.

It wasn’t the happiest of summers for the England striker, who didn’t play as much as he probably should have in a woeful Euro tournament for the side. At one point, it looked like he wouldn’t be coming back to Leicester at all too. We learnt from Vardy’s autobiography just how close he was to making that move to Arsenal in the summer, before he opted to stay. It was a moment that cemented him in Leicester hearts once again, nobody wanting to see the squad broken up too much and he being a big part of that. Come the end of the season, no doubt much will be decided in the media about whether or not he made the right move. The Foxes are a fitting home for the striker though, often playing to his strengths, something not guaranteed elsewhere. For the time being, it looks like he’s staying put and the chances of him ending his career with the Foxes isn’t unbelievable.

Leicester’s story last year was broadcast worldwide, everybody knew who Mahrez, Vardy and their team-mates were. Now out there on the big Champions League stage, there’s more opportunity for them to re-affirm their new status and these latest nominations of recognition certainly won’t hurt. It’s not every day you get to be in a list that contains World Cup and European tournament winners and generally world class players.

Ok, so the chances of either of our players winning the Ballon d’or is virtually non-existent, but the nomination is huge and a reward that feels deserved for both after their efforts and a combined league total of 41 goals and 25 assists last season.