The Ballon d'Or doesn't capture football's wonder – Michael Olise is proof

Opinion piece exploring how individual brilliance and crowd adulation matter more than individual awards, using Michael Olise's performance for France as the example.

A Guardian opinion column by Zito Madu reflects on the Ballon d'Or's limitations as a measure of footballing greatness, using France winger Michael Olise as a case study. The piece draws on Madu's own childhood experience of chasing captaincy before realizing that individual accolades don't capture what truly matters in football. During France's Nations League match against Belgium, Olise came on as a substitute and took the captain's armband from Ousmane Dembélé, demonstrating the kind of presence and crowd connection that transcends trophy cabinets.