January 11 was yet another night to award Lionel Messi for his unparallel contribution the world of football. Undoubtedly, he is the most talented footballer to have stepped on earth.
This auspicious occasion makes it suitable to pay attention to those who made most number of counts for Ballon D’or.
Ballon D’or or the ‘Golden Ball’ in French was first awarded in the year 1956 and it was awarded by the French Football association. Till 1995 it was awarded only to European players but later on players playing for European clubs were also included.
In the year 2009, FIFA World player of the year and Ballon D’or were combined to make it FIFA Ballon D’or which has been shared by only two players since its inception; Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
So let’s take a look at 5 players who won it for the most number of times-
1. Lionel Messi
As we talk of Messi, we talk of records. The wonder kid who suffered a growth deficiency hormone at the young age of 13 left no stone unturned to make everyone believe that with talent and hard work, nothing in this world is a dream, be it about being the best footballer. The Argentine won four Ballon D’ors in a row between year 2009-12 and once in 2015 making it a total of five, most by any player! With Barcelona, he has won seven La Liga, four UEFA Champions League and three Copa Del Rey. He holds the Guinness world record for scoring 295 goals in La Liga and the list goes on in plethora if his achievements are to be penned down. The only thing that lacks in his kitty is the FIFA World Cup that he said he could trade for all his Ballon D’ors. 2014 saw him loosen his grip on the Cup after Argentina lost to Germany in the finals. With time on his side, he can still make his dream come true. Succeeding Diego Maradona on the national side and Ronaldinho in Barca was not at all an easy task to say, but he endured the pressure and named himself amidst the greatest. His dribbling, ability to make moves and get past the defenders and goal keeper in no time makes him a stupendous player that no one can overshadow in upcoming years, at least few!
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
The contemporary football is incomplete without naming Messi’s dearest rival, Ronaldo, who won it thrice with two different clubs and two different leagues. Voted as best Portuguese player on the occasion of 100th anniversary of Portuguese football federation, he has been a prolific forward throughout his career and he recently completed his 500 senior goals. He is not just notable as a scorer but also as the face of football. He is the allegory of a footballer worldwide.
In the year 2008, he won Champions League trophy with Manchester United on a penalty shootout against Chelsea and the same year, his 31 goals in the Premier League won him Premier League golden boot and later, Ballon D’or
Second one came in the year 2013 where he set up a goal scoring streak in the Champions League with 17 in this season and a total of 67 goals, maximum by any player. In La Liga he finished with 31 goals in 30 games and was awarded European golden boot award alongside Luis Suarez. His Ballon D’or this season was named for the profusion of goals he scored!
His third one followed the next year when he became the third player to win three Ballon D’ors.
This season he even held the Champions League Cup in his hand. This year, too, he finished as the top scorer of Champions League and was lauded worldwide for his relentless goal scoring ability.
Although he wasn’t prolific for the national side as Portugal gasped in group stages only and his poor run against Germany and USA made him a matter of reprove.
Coming years may bring in more surprises from this Portuguese international!
3 Michel Platini
His career might be marred right now with charges of corruption followed by a ban of eight years, but he is unarguably one of the best French Footballer of all times. He is often termed as ‘le roi’ or the king for his indifferent ability to lead and change the game. He has three Ballon D’ors in his name. He was a complete player as he justified his national duties and club duties equally. He was even named on the FIFA World Cup Dream team and also included in Pele’s top 100 living players.
His line of Ballon D’ors started in the year 1983 when he joined Juventus from Saint Etienne in 1982. The first few months of his in the club were difficult as he found it hard to make a start in team full of Italian World Cup winners. But second half of the season, when he was almost sure of leaving Italy in the winter transfers, things took a downturn and cards were open on his side. He took ‘the old lady’ to the finals of European Cup and made them acquire the Italian Cup in the same year.
Year 1984 was a remarkable year in his life. He won the Serie A, European cup and European super cup from juve side and Euro cup from the national side. He was prolific throughout the season and the Ballon D’or he won this year was totally justified.
The last one came in 1985 when he led the team to success in the European Cup against Liverpool. The final went on to be a dramatic one as the Heysel Stadium met out a disaster where 39 people were killed and around 500 were injured in the catastrophe. Platini was condemned for not celebrating the team’s success but he gave his mourn for severe damage caused in the act.
He cites Juventus as the greatest club in the world and he still remains as one of the Juventus legends and the club still adores him.
4. Johan Cruyff
When Dutch football is commemorated, it’s incomplete with Cruyff. He is next on the list with three Ballon D’ors on his side with two clubs. Regarded as one of the most complete footballers on earth, he was voted as the European player of the century in 1999.
Talking of his awards, his first Ballon D’or came in the year 1971 with Ajax when he not only won the Dutch but European Player of the year award for the same season. He was the highest scorer in Eredivisie and won the European Cup with Ajax. His jersey number 14 love story also popped up this season when he donned number 14 jersey after his comeback from groin injury dropping his former number 9 jersey.
The next summer, he took a transfer to Barcelona with massive transfer fee. He helped Barcelona win their first La Liga trophy since 1960 and in the way he helped the team defeat the arch rivals Real Madrid 5-0. He is still regarded as Barcelona legends and the one who conquered the world football being a Catalonia king. He also scored his very famous ‘the phantom goal’ with his right heel and went on to win Ballon D’or in the year 1973.
His third one came in 1974, the next year when he again won La Liga with Barcelona. Talking of the national side, he took the Netherlands to the finals of world cup in 1972.
5. Marco Van Basten
The list is followed by yet another Dutch footballer who had his career cut short following an injury forcing him to retire early at the age of 30 itself. He won Ballon D’or thrice in 1988, 89 and 92.
He was voted sixth as the player of the century in 1999 when his country man Cruyff finished second behind Pele. He had a prolific goal scoring career as a forward with 300 goals in his account.
Basten started his glorious with Ajax and made a move to AC Milan in 1987 and began to make a difference as soon as he joined the world champions. In his first season, he scored 19 goals in Serie A and won European Cup. And he continued this run the next year also to win two Ballon D’ors in 1988 and 1989.
At the advent of season 1990-1991, he faced some disputes with his coach, Arrigo Sacchi and when Fabio Capello took his place, Basten tuned in well and the duo went on to win Serie A and he scored overall 29 goals and claimed Ballon D’or once again in 1992. The same year also saw him become the first player to score four goals in a Champions League match.
His abilities lied in his in-air tactics and he was seen scoring volleys and bicycle kicks. He was a clinical finisher and he was equally good in shooting with left and right foot.
By Shruti Pandey
