From the beginning, the Blue Lock anime has successfully engrossed viewers with its captivating action and philosophical storyline, as the main characters vie for the title of the greatest striker in the world.
Although a work of fiction, it contains numerous allusions to actual players, teams, and achievements. Nevertheless, not all players or teams may be explicitly identified in the anime.
Hence, the creators of the series made the decision to model characters after actual football players, prompting fans to speculate about the specific person from whom the fictional Ballon d’Or laureate Noel Noa was fashioned.
Is Noel Noa Inspired by a Real-Life Footballer?
As revealed by Blue Lock, Noel Noa was named winner in both the World Cup and the Ballon d’Or, surpassing the real-life athletes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The fictitious striker cannot be derived only from a single character, as no other real-life player has been equivalent to the aforementioned players up to this point.
Throughout most of their careers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did not fulfill Ego Jinpachi’s requirements as the ideal number 9 player. Consequently, it may be inferred that series creator Muneyuki Kaneshiro made the deliberate choice to derive the character of Noel Noa from two specific players, notably Polish striker Robert Lewandowski and retired French midfielder Zinedine Zidane.
In contrast to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, a Polish striker, is an exemplary number 9 striker known for his efficiency and balanced technical abilities.
Furthermore, he almost came to surpass Messi in winning the Ballon d’Or 2020, but the entire award ceremony was then canceled.
Blue Lock reports that Noel Noa is a player for Germany’s Bastard Munchen, a squad that draws inspiration from the actual Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich. Therefore, the resemblances between Noel Noa and Lewandowski are rather evident in terms of their playing style and squad composition.
But being a world-class number 9 striker alone has not been sufficient to be deemed the best player in the world. That is why the series designer likely chose to draw inspiration from Zinedine Zidane while creating Noel Noa.
As seen in the film Blue Lock, Noel Noa is a victor of the World Cup and has also received the esteemed Ballon d’Or nomination.
Zinedine Zidane, the former attacking midfielder for Real Madrid, is the sole real-life player that devoted football fans may recall, being the French Ballon d’Or and World Cup awardee.
Furthermore, it appears that the authors also opted to use a comparable narrative to that of Zidane for Noel Noa. Notably, the ex-Real Madrid midfielder was raised in the impoverished areas of France, and subsequently achieved victory in both the FIFA World Cup and the Ballon d’Or. Indeed, he was renowned for his ambidexterity.
The parallels between Noel Noa and the subject in question are readily apparent, considering their comparable professional trajectory and physical attributes. Therefore, it may be inferred that Noel Noa was derived from two actual tennis players.
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