Ballon d'Or C ristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or for a fifth time to move level with rival Lionel Messi. I really took a big hit on the head. However, that doesn't do justice to what was a pretty sensational year for a player who, alongside Ronaldinho, lit up the most terrifying attack in world football. I still haven't digested it. The award was started in 1956 and has evolved throughout the years. Henry has since claimed he never thought about winning the Ballon d'Or as a player, but to be overlooked by France Football in the season in which he won the league unbeaten, was named PFA and FWA Player of the Year, won the Premier League Golden Boot and was named FIFA World Player runner-up may have understandably stung. It is given to male football players that have performed the best over the previous year. The 2000 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Luís Figo on 19 December 2000.. Figo was the second Portuguese player to win the award after Eusébio ().He was also the third Real Madrid player to win the trophy after Alfredo Di Stéfano (1957, 1959) and Raymond Kopa (1958). I did a very, very, very big personal year. ​The Ballon d'Or is expected to go to Lionel Messi in Paris tonight, making it a record six wins for the incomparable Argentine. And, of course, Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk came in second place behind Lionel Messi in the most recent Ballon d'Or ceremony. Instead, Andriy Shevchenko, who blitzed Serie A with Milan, picked up the Ballon d'Or, while Henry had to make do with fourth place. Following Owen's surprise confirmation, former winner ​Roberto Baggio declared: "Raúl is the 2001 Ballon d'Or, whatever is said.". Among the 'Invincibles', Thierry Henry was the star, a striker of ridiculous grace and ruthlessness. A year later came one of the Ballon d'Or's most controversial awards in recent times, with Liverpool sensation Michael Owen causing a shock by pipping Raul to the honour, after helping Liverpool to a baby-treble of the FA Cup, the UEFA Cup and League Cup. 'Er Bimbo de Oro' (the Golden Boy) had to make do with tenth on the Golden Ball rankings, with Roma's embarrassing Champions League quarter-final defeat to Manchester United and his retirement from the Italy national team counting against him. Ferenc Puskas and Kenny Dalglish are two famously overlooked examples, and Virgil van Dijk - most people's favourite for runner-up - can count himself in good company in being snubbed for football's top individual gong. The Real Madrid forward was named … The Liberian striker also won African Footballer of the Year and was the Champions League's top scorer, bagging seven goals as PSG made it to the semi-finals. I did everything to have it." He helped Portugal to the semi-finals of Euro 2000, but was on the losing end in La Liga as Deportivo ran away with the title. Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal: Player Ratings as Sterling Strike Downs Gunners, Minute Media 2019 90min © All rights reserved, Nottingham Forest Set for Kamil Grosicki Appeal After Missing Transfer Deadline... by 21 Seconds, Man Utd's Bruno Fernandes 'Top Target' for Both Real Madrid & Barcelona, Robinho's Santos Contract Terminated After Less Than a Week. The forward nicknamed 'Merlin' was the creative heart of the Ajax team, who had secured back-to-back Eredivisie titles, scoring 26 times in all competitions in 1994/95 as the Dutch side swept all before them, adding the Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup to their trophy cabinet later that year. He was also the first Liverpool player to win the trophy. The 2000 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Luís Figo on 19 December 2000. Do you think a certain player has a right to feel aggrieved by their Balon d'Or standings? However, the voters don't always get it right. "I saw myself as the Ballon d'Or. Published 1:34 PM, Thursday April 09 2020 GMT+1. Before Cristiano Ronaldo secured his first Ballon d'Or in 2008, just months after Manchester United lifted the Champions League, the award was actually won … Then a year later, another Bayern player, Manuel Neuer, became one of only two goalkeepers to feature in the list, when he came in third place behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with 15.72% of the vote. he said. He also only scored one of his eight Champions League goals from the 1994/95 season in 1995, too. Perhaps most importantly, however, Ajax had a Finnish number 10 by the name of Jari Litmanen. The classy midfielder picked up UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and Real Madrid's Player of the Year for 2000 and was simultaneously midfield playmaker and anchor for Vicente del Bosque's side. The French forward scored 30 times in the league in 2003/04, but unfortunately flattered to deceive for France in Euro 2004, while Arsenal were dumped out of the Champions League by Chelsea in the quarter-finals. ​2007 saw Kaka named Ballon d'Or winner after starring in AC Milan's Champions League triumph. It's the truth. Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta came in a close second with 17.36%, while Xavi picked up 16.48% of the vote to come in third place. The 2001 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Michael Owen on 18 December 2001.. Owen was the fourth English national to win the award after Stanley Matthews (), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979). "I asked the question 10,000 times: why not me? The centre-back, who was the first defender to win since Franz Beckenbauer in the 1970s, had enjoyed a stellar tournament but, at 33, his powers were already somewhat on the wane. The Ballon d’Or came two years too soon for Zidane, and he really ought to have won it here. As Frank Rijkaard's side powered to Champions League triumph over Arsenal, Eto'o scored the crucial equaliser the final and was named UEFA's Best Forward of the Year. Captaining Los Blancos to success at the Stade de France in Paris was deep-lying Argentine Fernando Redondo, who remains criminally underrated outside of his homeland of Argentina and Spain. There are also suggestions that the Spaniard was a victim of voting politics, with the selectors keen to award to an English player for the first time since Kevin Keegan in 1979. He was also the third Real Madrid player to win the trophy after Alfredo Di Stéfano (1957, 1959) and Raymond Kopa (1958).[2]. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. "I ticked all the boxes. It's common knowledge that the Ballon d'Or standings have been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi of late, but what if players were only allowed to win the trophy once? And Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, who now plays for Barcelona, had exactly the same problem in 2016, when he failed to top the unstoppable duo in bronze position. As we all know, the dominance of Ronaldo and Messi soon shifted the Ballon d'Or standings for years to come, but what if they were only allowed to win it once? Totti was also named Serie A's Italian Footballer of the Year as Roma won the Coppa Italia, in which he scored the first-leg opener, and Supercoppa Italiana. Xavi was then a runner-up in 2011 after Messi won his second consecutive trophy and a year later, Radamel Falcao, who was perhaps the best striker in the world with Atletico Madrid at the time, came fourth in 2012. Who won it that year? Topics: Football News, Football, Messi, Ronaldo, Ballon d'Or. Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football. Lionel Messi. If 1995 was all about making sure the award went to someone outside Europe for the first time, then George Weah was a fine candidate. I experienced this third place as a terrible injustice. Sadly, injuries curtailed Redondo's career, but the midfielder - nicknamed 'Il Principe' was still selected in a MARCA poll for Real Madrid's all-time XI. Xavi was then a runner-up in 2011 after Messi won his second consecutive trophy and. However, despite European success, there is an argument that 2007 was actually one of Kaka's poorer years in Milan on an individual level, with the attacking midfielder more productive in both 2006 and 2008. In the Messi and Ronaldo era, the award has taken on new significance as the defacto signifier of the best individual in the sport. 2006's voting was ultimately swayed by Italy's World Cup victory in Germany, with Fabio Cannavaro taking first place as captain of the Azzurri under Marcelo Lippi. Already arguably past his peak, Weah had scored just seven times in 34 Ligue 1 matches in 1994/95, as PSG only finished third, way off eventual winners Nantes. However, one team that stood out among the unlikely chaos were ​Arsenal, who went the entire Premier League season unbeaten. The elegant Brazilian was famously the last person to win the award other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo prior to Luka Modric interrupting the duopoly last year. In 2010, Lionel Messi lifted his second Ballon d'Or after winning 22.65% of the votes. Should Franck Ribery have won it in 2013? He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. The fact that Madrid were between Champions League titles - in 2002 Raul became the first player to score in two finals - possibly counted against him in the judges' minds.

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