19591- ALFREDO DI STEFANO La Saeta Rubia scored 23 goals in 28 league games to be the top scorer in Spain yet another time. However, Real Madrid finished runner-up to Barcelona, the stronger team that season. Led by the legend, Real Madrid would add a fourth consecutive European Cup to their trophy room, though. No team has ever been even close to dominating Europe the way that Real Madrid did. Don Alfredo scored 6 times in 7 games, but left the best for last. He scored 4 goals against Wiener (had just eliminated Juventus in impressive fashion) in quarterfinals, another one in the semis against Atlético (in the play-off after a 2-2 aggregate) and a last one in the final against Fontaine’s Stade de Reims. The all time great played a number of times with the Spanish national side during this season with a high scoring rate. In June of 1959 Real Madrid and Santos met in a friendly match in Spain. The Spaniards took a 5-3 win. Once again, Alfredo Di Stéfano received the Ballon d’Or after dominating the voting (14 out of 20 possible first place votes and practically twice as many points as his immediate follower). 2- PELÉ Still a teenager, he was Paulista top scorer for third time in a row scoring a whopping 45 goals (out of the 155 Santos scored, an average of almost 4 goals per game) in 32 games, though not champion since after finishing with the same amount of points Palmeiras took it from Santos in a playoff type definition. Santos did win the perhaps more challenging Rio-São Paulo Tournament (competition disputed by the top teams of both states), a triumph to which Pelé contributed 6 more goals in 7 appearances. Had the team managed a victory against Bahia in the Taça Brasil final (Pelé scored 2 goals in 4 games in that competition), Santos could have participated in the first Libertadores in history. At country level Pelé had a very prolific year netting 11 goals in 9 matches. He scored 8 of them during the South American Championship that Argentina won. Pelé was named Best Player of the Tournament (however, the local press had considered Didí to be slightly ahead of Pelé as the most outstanding performer, but I decided not to include him due to his seemingly unremarkable club level campaign). 3- LUIS SUAREZ MIRAMONTES After his key contribution for Barcelona to win the 1958 Fairs Cup, Luisito led Barcelona to the league title relegating Di Stéfano’s legendary Real Madrid to a second place (the following season would happen the same). Barcelona also lifted the Spanish Cup (Copa del Generalísimo back then), thus achieving the doblete that season. Suárez contributed 14 goals in 26 games for the first and 6 goals in 9 games for the second (including 4 goals in the semis against Real Madrid). In addition, he was a regular in the Spanish national team, where he was one of the most prolific scorers. He was fourth in the voting for the 1959 Ballon d’Or. Next in my consideration were: Raymond Kopa. Though it was his most prolific season of the three he spent in Madrid (10 goals in 30 games), the team was league runner-up. He was, however, part of the European successful campaign that yielded Real Madrid’s fourth consecutive European Cup. At the end of the season Kopa returned to his Stade de Reims, where he fitted as well as if he had never left, and helped them win the 1959-60 French league. José Sanfilippo. Although both José Altafini (Brazilian striker) and Antonio Angelillo (Argentine striker) had great campaigns in Serie A that season, I think Sanfilippo was very likely the best goalgetter in the world at the time not named Pelé. Arguably San Lorenzo’s greatest ever idol, he scored 31 goals in 30 games to become the Argentine league top scorer for second year in a row and lead his side to the title. Sanfilippo was one of Argentina’s biggest stars at the time, if not the biggest. In 6 seasons (57-62) he was top scorer four times and the other two he was the second name in the scoring charts. During 1959 he participated in the extra South American Champioinship held in Ecuador (perhaps one of the most forgettable ones ever) and despite not winning the title with Argentina, he was the tournament’s top scorer with 6 goals in 4 games.
There was no Golden Ball, Zizinho did not win anything. Schiaffino goes in history as the greater player, and since he won the WC beating Zizinho's team in the final, it's fair when looking back for Schiaffino to be the best player of the tournament. I really don't buy this stuff about luck either, Uruguay played their game the way they needed to win it, and were able to pull it off at the right time. Also, when a player is on the losing side of the greatest upset in soccer history, he really should not win a best player award.
I don;t care if you don;t buy in luck. Zizinho was officially named Goldenball by FIFA Last bold of yours is full of ignorance! , so at WC74 Maybe Berti Vogts should have won golden ball instead of Criijff? :LOL WC02, may be Ronaldinho would have won goldenball instead of Kahn? LOL WC06 May be Del Piero should win the goldenball instead of Zidane ? LOL
19601- FERENC PUSKAS The man who eventually was deemed the greatest scorer of the century had a record season with Real Madrid. Puskás was the top scorer of the league (25 goals in 24 games), although Barcelona won the title despite finishing with the same points as Real Madrid. He contributed 10 more during the Spanish Cup (Copa del Generalísimo back then), including one in the final that actually Atlético de Madrid won, and netted a dozen goals in 9 European Cup games that were crucial for Real Madrid to reach its fifth European Cup (including 4 in the final match against Eintracht Frankfurt, a memorable game that finished 7-3, and 3 in the semis against Barcelona). That is 47 goals in 38 games overall in a season, a Real Madrid record that stood more than forty years and that perhaps would still be unbroken had the Spanish been a 20-team league back then as well. In addition to all of this, Real Madrid won the first ever Intercontinental Cup. Puskás scored twice in the 5-1 beating of Peñarol in Spain, making Real Madrid the first Intercontinental champion. He was second for the 1960 Ballon d'Or, but it was one of those few times in which the winner of the award is not the player that received the most first place votes. In this case, Puskás was. 2- LUIS SUAREZ MIRAMONTES The elegant playmaker managed 13 goals in 23 games to lead Barcelona to a second consecutive Spanish league title, winning the pulse with powerful Real Madrid one more time. The team lifted as well the Fairs Cup that year. Suárez helped Barcelona reach semifinals of the European Cup, where they could not get past a Real Madrid with Puskás and Di Stéfano inspired. Though, as I said, the Hungarian goalgetter received more first place votes, that year's Ballon d'Or was for Luis Suárez. 3- UWE SEELER Seeler had what was perhaps his most outstanding club season, leading Hamburger SV to win first their regional competition as its top scorer with 36 goals in 26 games, to then conquer the German championship netting 13 more goals in another 7 matches. In the final of the latter Hamburger SV met an FC Koln that featured Schnellinger, Rahn and Schäfer. It was a 3-2 victory for which Seeler contributed 2 goals. A total of 49 goals in 33 games for him that season. He was German Player of the Year and third in the voting for Ballon d'Or, surpassing names like Di Stéfano, Kopa and Charlton. I would say Alfredo Di Stefano had perhaps a decent claim at a spot. La Saeta Rubia helped his Real Madrid reach the second place in both league (though, as said, with the same amount of points as Barcelona) and cup in Spain. Already in his mid 30s but still racking up enviable numbers, the legend finished the season with 23 goals in 34 games overall. The highlight was without a doubt the final stages of the European Cup, the fifth that the team achieved. He finished the competition with 8 goals, second only to teammate Puskás. He scored 2 in the semifinal against no other than Barcelona and a hat-trick in the final against Eintracht Frankfurt, including the first two Madridista goals that turned the game around after a 0-1 disadvantage. In addition, he scored as well in the 5-1 beating of Peñarol that made Real Madrid the first ever intercontinental champion. At country level, he defended the Spanish colors several times scoring many goals. He finished a single point behind Seeler in the Ballon d'Or voting. But I would like to mention Omar Sívori as well. Sívori was key in Juventus' doblete that season, being Serie A top scorer with 28 goals in 31 games and contributing 3 more in another 4 games of the Italian Cup also won by La Vecchia Signora (won the league by a healthy margin over Fiorentina). After being extremely successful in Argentina, he was tasting more of the same in Italy, both times being a key member of his team. El Cabezón entered the top ten of this edition of the Ballon d'Or, an award he would take home the following year. Legendary Argentine coach César Luis Menotti holds that though Sívori was a phenomenal soloist, he was also a brilliant orchestrator.
19611- PELÉ Pelé was Paulista champion and top scorer with a staggering 47 goals in just 26 games, which I am quite sure is the highest scoring average in a season in the history of any of the Brazilian State Championships. His Santos also defeated first América and then Bahia to become Taça Brasil champion for the first of five consecutive times. Pelé's 7 goals in the 5 games made him top scorer of that tournament as well. In fact, things were looking bright for Santos in the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament too after winning the Sao Paulo group. Against Fluminense Pelé scored his famous Gol de Placa, where he ran almost the entire length of the pitch with the ball at his feet, leaving behind defenders Pinheiro and Mairinho before placing the ball where the efforts of keeper Castilho would result useless. For the final stage, however, Pelé (who had scored 8 times in 7 games until then) picked up an injury and Santos lost its strength. Those same physical problems kept Pelé away from the Seleçao that year. He was fit again for this year's European tour of Santos which yielded much more impressive results for both the team and Pelé than that of the previous year. Scoring in every single game but one (against Antwerp, a draw and the only game Santos did not win), he helped Santos to two very notorious victories, among many others: against Sívori's Juventus and against European champion Benfica. 2- OMAR SÍVORI The Maradona of the Sixties was that year's Ballon d'Or. He led Juventus to a second consecutive Serie A title scoring 25 goals in 27 league games. He averaged practically a goal per game considering all competitions of the 1960-61 season. It could have been a much better one for Sívori if not for Juventus' poor performance in the European Cup, where the team was eliminated in the preliminary round by CDNA Sofia. It has to be said, though, that Sívori scored a goal in the 2-0 victory in the first leg, but he did not play in the 1-4 second leg defeat that sent Juventus home. This year he also made his debut with the azzurri where he kept scoring as regularly as with his club. 3- GARRINCHA The spectacular winger (and perhaps the most iconic one in the history of the sport) and one of the most renowned dribblers ever helped Botafogo to the Carioca championship by a 12-point margin. The team had finished at the top of the Rio de Janeiro group of the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament as well, but was Flamengo's close runner-up in the end. The competition was, once again, dominated by Carioca sides. The great Garrincha netted 8 goals in 32 overall games that year. The following one was the best in the phenomenal winger's career and undeniably earned Garrincha mythical status. Next in my personal considertion and a legitimate candidate to the third spot was goalgetter Alberto Spencer. His 18 goals in as many games helped Peñarol win the Uruguayan league again and made Spencer its top scorer. He kept scoring frequently in both Libertadores (netted a key goal in the final against Palmeiras) and Intercontinental cups (where Peñarol beat Benfica; after each team took a win, a tie-breaker game decided the series; it has to be said it was held in Montevideo), both of which Peñarol won in 1961. He was one of the most renowned strikers of his time in South America (at least) and one of the greatest legends of the sport that never got the chance to participate in a World Cup.
19621- GARRINCHA The early 60s saw the best of the great Brazilian winger, who at the time I understand was rated as high as Pelé himself. The year 1962 was his year. Firstly, he reached with Botafogo the Taça Brasil final to face Santos, but after each team took a win his team suffered a beating in the decisive third game (5-0). He then led his Botafogo to win the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament without much trouble, a competition the great Santos of Pelé did not participate of as it was playing the Libertadores Cup at the time. The World Cup in Chile followed, where Garrincha threw the team on his shoulders once a Pelé that injured himself in the first game was unable to continue, and led it to victory in what is said to be one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the competition. He was Golden Ball and shared the Golden Boot award with five other players. Once back home he kept on winning as he led his team to another title, this time the Campeonato Carioca in which Botafogo narrowly bested Dida's Flamengo. As said, 1962 was Garrincha's most remarkable year. 1- PELÉ I was sure about Garrincha in the top spot this year, but not anymore. Him and Pelé will have to share the top pick because Santos destroyed Botafogo when they met and also Pelé had an outstanding campaign with Santos at continental and intercontinental level. He started the year as Taça Brasil champion with Santos, scoring his only 2 goals in the decisive game against Botafogo (the last couple of goals in the 5-0 beating). Then Santos embarked in a Latin American tour destroying teams from Ecuador and Perú but finding proper resistance in Argentina (a win, a draw and a defeat), after which the first stage of the Libertadores Cup took place (thus having to stay out of the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament). The worst part of the year would follow, with the injury that prived him from the World Cup (he had scored 8 times in 8 games with the Seleçao until then that season) and both semifinal and final of the Libertadores. Santos pulled through both of them without Pelé and forced a third game against Peñarol in the final which took place in Buenos Aires (a neutral ground unlike in 1960, when the third and decisive game between Peñarol and San Lorenzo was held, rather unfairly, in Montevideo). By then Pelé was fit and managed a couple of goals in the 3-0 win over the Uruguayans. Later on Pelé would have a legendary performance (perhaps his single most outstanding one) against Benfica for the Intercontinental Cup. Pelé was completely unstoppable and led Santos to a categorical victory over the European champion (the Brazilians won both games and Pelé scored 5 times). Santos was also Paulista champion and Pelé the top scorer of the competition with 37 goals in 26 games. If not for untimely physical problems (plus Garrincha's fantastic form), Pelé would have likely been the top pick for 1962. 3- JOSEF MASOPUST A tireless workhorse as well as a gifted dribbler (his drives forward breaking up rival defenses were called the Masopust slaloms) and playmaker with great technique, Masopust was a remarkable box-to-box midfielder. In 1962 he won his fifth league title with Dukla Prague, the second of what would be four consecutive ones, and helped the team reach quarterfinals of the European Cup (lost to Tottenham Hotspur). He also led his national team to the final of the World Cup in Chile. After a less than brilliant group stage Czechoslovakia picked up a bit of pace in the knockout phase and bested Hungary and Yugoslavia before facing Brazil in the decisive match, where Masopust himself scored the opener (Brazil would eventually turn the game around and take a 3-1 win). His overall performance was one of the most outstanding. He also won the 1962 Ballon d'Or edging Eusébio in the voting. More than four decades later he would be chosen Czech Republic's most outstanding player ever.
Peru FC - I really enjoyed reading your site, I would be very interested to see your top five which you said you had on another thread. I attempted ten players back to 1930 but in no order and just picked the winner. I also did by season so 91/92 would be European and 92 say for most South American leagues. We did however have so many choices for number one that were the same : ) Main differences as follows: 35 & 36 - I had Meazza for both years for Serie A and Central European Cup performances 37 - Sarosi - Slightly over Erico 39 - Erico - Close over Zsellenger 47 - Mazzola 48 - Matthews - England team destroyed so many European (inlcuding 4-0 in Turin) teams that season and he was amazing 50 - Schiaffino 51 - Close but I went for Nordahl over Liedholm 54 - Kocsis, he was super in World Cup especially in wins over Brazil and Uruguay in quarter and semi finals 72 - Beckenbauer 74 - Cruyff - For what he did at Barca and the World Cup 75 - Blokhin - Electric that season especially against Bayern in Super Cup 76 - Beckenbauer 80 - Rummenigge 89 - Van Basten 92 - Stoichkov - Van Basten won Ballon d'or for his start to 92/93 season when Stoichkov was injured 95 - Weah 96 - Sammer - Ronaldo won FIFA award for 96/97 season start 98 - Zidane 00 - Figo - Most consistent over season and brilli\nt for Barca while Zidane did not have great season for Juve and on FIFA award for Euro 2000 performance. 01 - Batistuta - In my view he was the best playr in club football that season and reason why Roma won Serie A, big drop in form at start of 01/02 stopped him for awards 03 - Nedved 04 - Shevchenko 06 - Canavarro - He was a giant at the World Cup Once - I am also really enjoying the list you are putting up, great to see everone seems to agree re Puskas in 1960. Other differences are I had Schiaffino in 50, Puskas in 53 and Pele in 58, thats but have 10/13 that match so far. I had not completed a top 3 but might have to now after seeing others lists.
[!! Finally, someone that at least partially understands the importance of the "not-so-friendly" international matches of that era...]
those BOLD years were always debatable ... since tehre were NO clear best player. Especially in 2006: Canavaro was the WORST ever Ballon Dor winner and also the LEAST deserved one of HISTORY (he was just a product of FIFA/media in changing view on defenders) RECAP of 2006 with Canavaro: - whole season 2006: Canavaro was very good (not great nor excellent with Juve) - CLEARLY Ronaldinho, henry and Etoo were on course to be TOP3 best players that year (before WC) - WC06: he was NOT even the best player of Italy, let along the whole WC tourney. He won the "LUCKY PRIZE" in the expense of the following incidence/FACTS: 1 - "poor Ronaldinho at WC06" 2- "just good" Henry at WC06 and final UCL06 3- he HAPPENED to be the captain of the team winning WC06 (thanks to 11 different scorers to make that happened= TEAM WORK = not so much by his own performance per se!
I agree Cannavarro was a bit lucky to win in 2006. He had a good season winning the league but he among other Italy players was excellent at the World Cup. Henry and Ronaldinho I think were by far the two best club players that season. Ronaldinho was immense but suffered from a below mediocre World Cup where otherwise he should have been a definite. I think despite it being very close Cannavarro edges it. I agree the ones in Bold were very close but Nedved was the man of the Champions League that season (although if Arsenal would have one PL Henry I think would have got it) and Shevchenko benefited from nobody having a stand out Euro 2004. RoyoftheRovers - I agrees, its fun and some great discussions!
Absolutely. But it is still a rather subjective matter even when assessing current or recent years/seasons anyways. Now, I do realize that had I had the chance to actully see all of them perform, not only I could have a proper opinion instead of best guesses, but also my lists here might have looked different.
19631- PELÉ Arguably at his peak, Pelé won everything he could have won except the Paulista Championship (Santos lost both Pelé and Mengálvio for the last quarter of the tournament and finished in the third place, far from champion Palmeiras). However, Pelé was its top scorer and was immense in every other competition winning the Taça Brazil (top scorer with 8 goals in 4 games), the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament (top scorer with 14 goals in 8 games) and the Libertadores (5 goals in 4 games). Santos was also Intercontinental champion for second consecutive time, but Pelé only played the first game of the series (in Italy and scoring twice in the 4-2 win by the Europeans), the only one the team lost. At country level Pelé managed 7 goals in equal amount of matches that year, though with negative results for Brazil (3 wins and 4 losses). The 3 victories were the 3 games in which Pelé scored, including a hat-trick against France and another one against Argentina that gave Brazil the Roca Cup. Curiously, with Pelé presumably at his peak and the Santos of the White Ballet winning almost everything they played for, their 1963 European tour was rather disappointing, grabbing almost as many losses as they did wins (particularly in Italy). 2- GIANNI RIVERA A still very young Rivera (he was not 20 years old yet), who had played a key role in AC Milan's Serie A title the previous year (which earned him a sixth place in the Ballon d'Or voting of 1962), scored 9 times in 27 league games to help his team reach a third place in Serie A. He was most outstanding in the 1962-63 edition of the European Cup though, leading Milan to the title defeating Eusébio's Benfica in the final. The team was very close to beat Santos for the Intercontinental Cup, but after a 4-2 victory in Italy they lost in Brazil for the same score after having been ahead 2-0 and despite Pelé not playing. A third and decisive match was needed and it was held in... Brazil. Pelé was still unable to play, but Milan had also lost its main man Rivera for the occasion; the Brazilians took the trophy after a 1-0 win. Rivera was second only to Yashin in the 1963 Ballon d'Or voting, thus being the top pick among outfield players. 3- JIMMY GREAVES Greaves was the top scorer (his third title, though it could have been the fourth had he not spent in Italy a few months before joining Tottenham half way though the 1961-62 season) of the English First Division averaging almost a goal per game (37 goals in 41 games) and his Tottenham runner-up of the tournament, second only to Everton. Having won the 1962 FA Cup, Tottenham participated of the 1962-63 edition of the Cup Winners' Cup which Greaves helped them win scoring 5 times in 6 games, including 2 in the final 5-1 victory over Atlético de Madrid. Only Lev Yashin and Gianni Rivera surpassed him in the Ballon d'Or voting that year. Next in my consideration was Eusébio. His 23 goals in 24 games did not make him top scorer in Portugal but they did help Benfica win the league. He managed 6 more in 7 European Cup games (fourth among top scorers of the competition) that led Benfica to the final against Milan. By way of Eusébio Benfica was 1-0 ahead at half-time, but 2 goals scored by Altafini sentenced the duel in favor of the Italians in the second half. He was fifth for Ballon d'Or that year. There was also Lev Yashin, quite possibly the gratest keeper ever to play the game. He was the 1963 Ballon d´Or winner becoming the first and so far only keeper to ever win the award. However, I understand his phenomenal performance in the FA Centenary game between England and the Rest of the World had a lot to do with him being awarded. But he did help his team be the 1963 Soviet League champion conceding the least amount of goals by far.
19641- LUIS SUAREZ MIRAMONTES Helenio Herrera had taken Suárez from Barcelona to Inter for the 1961-62 season, and the man soon became The Architect of the great Inter of the mid 60s. The all time great midfield maestro was the brains of the side that in 1964 finished third in Serie A and defeated Real Madrid in the final of the European Cup, where Suárez was impeccable running his midfield and was man of the match. Inter also was Intercontinental champion after defeating Libertadores winner Independiente. Each side won in their respective fields but Inter took the title in the decisive third match held in Spain despite not counting with two of the team's top men in attack, namely Mazzola and Jair. Suárez was also outstanding with the Spanish national team leading them to win the 1964 European Nations' Cup, even when the standard of play of the tournament in general was not very high. He was directly involved in both Spanish goals that gave his side the 2-1 win over the Soviet Union of Yashin in the final. He was second only to Law in the race for the 1964 Ballon d'Or but I give him the top spot for having won such relevant titles being the reference of both the side that won the European Cup and the one that won the Nations' Cup. 2- DENIS LAW The 1963-64 was his most prolific season. He scored a total of 46 goals in 41 overall games that are a record in England still today. It is as much about the number of goals as it is about the way he scored them. Unstoppable when inspired, virtuosity and flair were some of the characteristics of his game. He was a great crowd pleaser and an outstanding scorer. His bad boy behavior added to the charm of one of the most fondly remembered red devils of all times. He won no titles during the season with his club though, having been Liverpool's runner-up in the league and eliminated in the semifinals of the FA Cup by eventual winners West Ham United. He did, however, obtain the 1964 Ballon d'Or (Suárez received the same amount of first place votes but Law edged him in the overall count). 3-PELÉ After a rough start of the year that saw Santos suffer some bulky defeats against the top teams of Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, the legendary Brazilian led the way to regain the Paulista throne being the top scorer of the competition for an incredible eighth consecutive time. Santos would conquer as well the fourth of its five consecutive Taça Brasil titles, destroying Atlético Mineiro in quarterfinals, Palmeiras in semifinals and Flamengo in the final with a brilliant Pelé that scored in all the stages and totaled 7 goals in 6 games to be its top scorer. Santos was also the champion of the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament, though it must be said that it was not a title entirely won on the field: Santos and Botafogo finished with equal amount of points and despite the Carioca side having superior goal difference it was decided the champion would emerge as a result of a best-of-three playoff series. Botafogo won the first duel but instead of continuing the playoff both teams were declared champions and went away touring. At international level, injury did not allow Pelé to help Santos to another successful Libertadores campaign and the team fell defeated by Argentine side Independiente (though other important players like Mengálvio, Mauro Ramos and Coutinho did not play either). The worst of the year for Pelé, however, would take place with the Seleçao. Brazil organized a friendly tournament for the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Football Confederation. The invited teams were England, Portugal and Argentina. The last one was the winner of the competition after winning all of its three games including a 3-0 beating of Pelé's Brazil in Sao Paulo. It was a special game. Young Argentine defender José Mesiano had been assigned as Pelé's marker. Mesiano marked Pelé out of the game not giving him any space to play. Quite a while before the end of the first half, in a play where Varacka (Argentine defender) wins a ball in defense and runs forward with it, Pelé, tired of the suffocating marking, intentionally dealt Mesiano a nose-breaking hit (some say it a punch, some say it was a head-butt). The action was not seen by the referee and the game continued as if nothing. Mesiano, of course, had to he replaced immediately. His substitute ended up scoring 2 goals. Later Pelé went to the hotel where to Argentine national team was to apologize in person to the victim of his rage. Next in my consideration were two players. One is Amancio Amaro. It was the second season at Real Madrid for him and the second consecutive league title obtained for the man they used to call El Brujo (the wizard) for his ability to get away with implausible dribbles. More remarkable was perhaps his contribution for Spain's success in the European Championship. After scoring twice in the beating of Ireland in what would have been the quarterfinals of the tournament, he scored the winning goal in extra-time against Hungary in the semis. He was included in the Team of the Tournament and finished in third place for the 1964 Ballon d'Or behind Law and countryman Suárez. The other one is Eusébio. With an impressive 28 goals in 19 league games Eusébio led Benfica to its third Portuguese league title in 4 years as the tournament's top scorer. The team won as well that edition of the Portuguese Cup. Benfica's campaign in the 1963-64 European Cup was rather short finding elimination already at the round of sixteen. It has to be said, however, that Eusébio had scored 4 goals in the 3 games he played and the one game he missed Benfica took a serious beating (lost 5-0 to Borussia Dortmund in Germany) that knocked them off the competition. He was fourth in the 1964 Ballon d'Or voting.
19651- EUSEBIO The legendary Black Panther led his Benfica to a third consecutive Portuguese league title being the top scorer of the competition with 28 goals in 20 games (the second of his five consecutive scoring titles in Portugal), and to the Portuguese Cup final (which Benfica lost). Eusébio was also crucial for Benfica to reach the European Cup final scoring in every stage of the tournament including 3 goals against Real Madrid in quarterfinals and 2 more in semifinals before Benfica lost the decisive match against Inter. It has to be said, though, that despite Benfica's protests to UEFA the game was disputed at the San Siro stadium in front of several tens of thousands of Italian fans, and that the single goal that gave Inter the victory was a shot that slipped through the arms of Benfica's keeper (perhaps due to the horrible conditions of the pitch that day). At country level Eusébio scored 9 goals in six games between late 1964 and mid 1965, 7 of which he netted for World Cup qualifiers (Portugal won its group). He was the 1965 Ballon d'Or (his two most immediate followers in the voting were Internazionale's stars Facchetti and Suárez, whom Eusébio surpassed despite losing the European Cup to them). In June of 1965 the Portugal of Eusébio and the Brazil of Pelé met in a friendly match held in Portuguese soil; it was a goal-less draw. 2- PELÉ Just like Pelé's statistics became otherwordly after the 1958 World Cup, they turned a lot more earthly after the 1966 edition. Winning titles became less frequent as well. The 1965 season was the last one that saw Pelé score like a machine, averaging a lot more than a goal per game; 64 goals in 48 overall matches to be exact. The year started negatively, with a poor campaign in the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament and elimination in the Libertadores. However, Pelé would later lead Santos to yet another Paulista title being the championship's top scorer for the ninth consecutive time (with 49 goals, his second highest mark) and to the club's fifth Taça Brasil in a row (beating first Palmeiras in semis and then Vasco da Gama in the final). Although Pelé was the 1965 Libertadores top scorer (8 goals in 7 games), Santos was eliminated in semifinals by Rocha's Peñarol. The Brazilian legend also had a very prolific year with the national team scoring 9 times in 8 appearances. Actually, as said, Eusébio and Pelé met this year in a Portugal-Brazil friendly held in the former which ended without goals. 3- LUIS SUAREZ MIRAMONTES Third in the race for Ballon d'Or, he was the midfield maestro key for Inter's highly successfull season. He led them to the Serie A title (scoring 8 times in 29 games), the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. Arguably the best European footballer of the first half of the 60s, Suárez is among the best midfielders in history and perhaps the greatest Spanish footballer of all time thus far (at least the only one to have received a Ballon d'Or). He helped Inter win another Serie A title the following season and stayed with the club until the end of the decade being league runner-up in 1967 and 1970. If there was one player that in my view could have challenged for a mention, he was Pedro Rocha. In 1965 he led his Peñarol to win the Uruguayan league obtaining 32 out of 36 possible points and being the top scorer of the tournament with 17 goals. He also helped his team be Libertadores finalist scoring 4 times including goals in the semifinal and the final (only Pelé scored more than Rocha in that competition). At contry level he scored 5 goals in 9 appearances, all but one of his goals during World Cup qualifier games.
19661- BOBBY CHARLTON In 1966 Charlton led his national team to the only World Cup success in their history (he scored 2 of his 3 goals during the tournament in the 2-1 win over Eusébio's Portugal in semis); a title they won as hosts of the competition and not without certain controversy. Charlton was certainly one of the most outstanding performers of the tournament. With the legend's commanding presence in midfield (and his 16 league goals), Manchester United finished fourth in the English top flight and reached semifinals of the FA Cup. The team was also European Cup semifinalist (had cruised past Benfica in quarterfinals), narrowly losing to Partizan in a 2-1 aggregate defeat that saw each team win a game. Only a single point ahead of Eusébio in the voting, Charlton was awarded the 1966 Ballon d'Or. 2- EUSEBIO Arguably the greatest goalgetter of the second half of the 60s, in 1966 Eusébio was the top scorer in all the major competitions he played. Though Benfica finished runner-up only a point behind Sporting in the Portuguese league, Eusébio's 25 goals in 23 games made him its top scorer once more. Despite not going further than quarterfinals in the 1965-66 European Cup and playing only 5 games, Eusébio was the top scorer of that competition as well with 7 goals (same amount as Flórián Albert). The Black Panther shone perhaps even brighter during the World Cup leading Portugal to a historic third place (their best result ever), being that tournament's top scorer as well with a total of 9 goals (although several of them were PKs). Besides earning the Golden Boot award, he was arguably the most dazzling individual performance of all. He finished second for the 1966 Ballon d'Or, a single point behind Bobby Charlton. I went with Charlton for the top pick because both times they met Charlton came out victorious. 3- FRANZ BECKENBUER Still 20 years old, Beckenbauer's performance was key for West Germany to reach the World Cup final. His 4 goals earned him the Bronze Boot award and a mention in the All Star Team of Tournament. At club level, in his first season in the regional league, 1964–65, the team won promotion to the recently formed Bundesliga, the national league. Beckenbauer led Bayern Munich to finish in an impressive third place (only three points behind the champion) in what was both the team and Der Kaiser's debut season in the German top flight (1965-66). He also helped the team win the German Cup and even managed to score a goal in the final. Beckenbauer was named German Footballer of the Year and finished third in the voting for Ballon d'Or being the only player to get the nod from every single one of the voters (there were twenty two of them and they all had him among their choices). I think this is one of those years when the three most remarkable performers are rather easy to spot.
I don't think it was that easy. Actually, it was at that time seen as a poor tournament where two poor sides, with a couple of poor games, made the final. But the English victory has done a lot in giving it a more rosy tint. Perspectives about great performers also varied a lot. Not the technically best sides made the final. For a decent overview, without after the fact revisionism, I like the 'soccer panorama' book by Glanville (1968). One can also spot how often a name is mentioned as good performer in a game. It is a much better account as later attempts where the 'rule brittania' song is very clear to notice and the FIFA authorized his views ('the story of the world cup', starting in the 70s, was for a while backed by the FIFA...).
19671- FLORIAN ALBERT He was one of the most outstanding European footballers of the 60s. During the World Cup in 1966 he had helped Hungary reach quarterfinals where they were eliminated by the Soviet Union. Most memorable was perhaps his outstanding performance in the 3-1 victory over current champions Brazil in the group stage. Albert was the star of the Hungarian league he helped Ferencváros win, having scored 28 times in 27 games (second among top scorers). On the other hand, and despite his team being eliminated early from the competition, he was the top scorer of the 1966-67 Fairs Cup with a total of 8 goals. Highly proficient both as a scorer and a playmaker, he also helped his national side to win eight consecutive games between September 1966 and September 1967, including four European Championship qualifying games. He was the 1967 Ballon d'Or winner (had reached the top5 the precious edition). 2- PEDRO ROCHA Rocha was not only key in Peñarol largely dominating the Uruguayan league during the 60s (he indeed led Peñarol to another league title in 1967), he also led his national side to success. Rocha was the star of the Uruguayan squad that won the 1967 South American Championship (Uruguay hosted the tournament), scoring 3 goals during the competition including the one that gave Uruguay the 1-0 win over Argentina and thus the title. He was selected Best Player of the Tournament. Rocha was ranked in the 37th place by IFFHS among the best South American footballers of the past century. 3- BOBBY CHARLTON In yet another outstanding season, Charlton led Manchester United to their second English league title in three years (he managed a dozen goals in the process). He also scored twice in the Charity Shield match against Tottenham, a game most fondly remembered for Pat Jennings' goal throwing the ball from box to box with his hand. He was runner-up in the voting for Ballon d'Or, but rather far from winner Flórián Albert. Differently than in 1966, this is one of those years that are harder to figure out. There are at least a couple of other players that mey deserve a top3 place just as much as the mentioned names. There is first Jimmy Johnstone. In 1967 Johnstone won with Celtic every major competition in which they took part. With 13 goals scored in 25 games (the most prolific season of his entire career), Johnstone helped Celtic win the Scottish league. The team also won the Scottish Cup, thus achieving the double. Most notably, and the biggest reason for his mentioning here, Celtic also defeated Inter in the European Cup final in what most would call an upset. Even more so considering that Inter was 1-0 up already in the seventh minute of the game. Johnstone was third in the voting for the 1967 Ballon d'Or, but only a single point behind Charlton. Then there is Gerd Müller. In what was his breakthrough season, Der Bomber won Bundesliga top scorer honors for the first time having netted 28 goals in 32 games and was crucial for Bayern Munich to win the German Cup with a contribution of 7 more goals in 4 games, including 2 in the very final. Highly prolific at European level as well, he managed another 8 goals in 9 matches that helped Bayern Munich win the 1966-67 Cup Winners' Cup. On top of all that, he earned his first few caps and scored his few first goals with the national side. The unstoppable goalgetter was the 1967 German Footballer of the Year (which is why I mention him and not Beckenbuer this time) and finished seventh in the 1967 Ballon d'Or voting.
[I have a small advantage here in that I actually saw in "living colour" when Bobby Moore captained England to victory in the '66 World Cup (every minute that Moore was on the pitch in the England No.6 shirt & w/the armband). I also saw all or most of the England matches (competitive and friendly games) before and after the Wembley victory over W. Germany in '66...]
Based on what I saw and read I think that Moore maybe reached a more constant level as Charlton over the whole tournament. That's inherent to the position he played (compared with Charlton) but Moore also managed to create some important danger, as the stats show too... Charlton was ofc notably great against Portugal but he had also some halves where he was criticized afterwards I think. IIRC he was less good against France and Uruguay in particular, the opening game.
[Something to remember w/Charlton v. Moore when playing for Ramsey w/England was that Moore's "job" on the pitch (for England)was much closer to where he fit in for WHU. The same was not exactly true w/Charlton and United IMHO...] [
Good to see Celtic mentioned in '67 but not unsurprising to see them being omitted from honours. Celtic actually competed in 5 competitions in '67 and won them all. European Cup, Scottish League (scoring 111 goals in the process over 34 matches), Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Glasgow Cup. Now the Glasgow cup doesn't sound like a whole lot but it was still a very big tournament up until around the late 80's in Scotland. Celtic had to beat Rangers to win it. A Rangers team that went all the way to the Cup Winners Cup final before losing out to Bayern Munich. Kilmarnock got to the semi-final of the Fairs Cup before losing out to Leeds Utd. Dundee Utd eliminated Barcelona from the Fairs cup as well. All these teams Celtic faced in the league (whilst scoring 111 goals) and only lost two matches domestically in the entire season. Not to mention completely dominating an Inter side from the very early stages in Lisbon until the last kick of the ball. Still, Bobby Charlton did score twice in the charity shield so ...