FIFA Technical Study Group member Gerard Houllier recently defended the governing body's decision to give Lionel Messi the Golden Ball award in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Messi was named as the player of the tournament in this year's World Cup, but the decision was criticized by fans and the media, many questioning how the Argentine became the best player of tournament when he failed to live up to expectations.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter previously admitted that he was surprised when Messi was named as the Golden Ball winner, while Argentine legend Diego Maradona also questioned the decision, which he called a pure marketing plan for FIFA.

But in an interview with ESPN FC, Houllier stood firm with the governing body's decision, insisting that Messi deserved the award despite failing to lead Argentina to a victory against Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final.

Houllier said that while Messi was almost a non-factor in the final match against Germany, the technical study group based their decision on all games the star forward played.

"I understand that it has surprised, because everyone only remembers the second half of Lionel Messi in the final," Messi said. "We, the commission, we look at all the games, and we judge that he was the most important man for his team. He went to the final, which is one of the conditions for the attribution of the trophy."

Houllier also added that the way Messi made sure that Argentina played as a cohesive unit was also a factor in their decision to give the coveted award to the Barcelona superstar.

"The analysis also takes into account the fact he was the captain of a united team. A team that played well together," Messi said. "That's something we hadn't seen for a long time from Argentina. He was more than key in the squad and the way it was set up. For me, he fully deserves the Golden Ball given he took his team through to the final."

Colombia's James Rodriguez, the Golden Boot winner, and Netherland's Arjen Robben were also considered for the award, but Messi was found to be the best among the candidates.

Houllier pointed out that Robben "was much less influential" for Netherlands, while Rodriguez failed to lead his team to the semifinals after losing to Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Related