Balon D'Or Winner '67 Florian Albert

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by schwuppe, Nov 22, 2018.

  1. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    Could someone explain what caused him to win it? I'm not necessary saying he didn't deserve it, I'm just looking for possible reason which made him attractive to voters and can't find any.

    Ferencvaros participated in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in both 1966/67 and 1967/68.
    In 66/67 they faced Ljubljana, some Swedish team and Eintracht Frankfurt (got eliminated here - R16). Albert was the topscorer with 8 goals scoring 3, 4, 1 goal against those teams.

    Next season the competition was some Romanian team and Zaragoza (was played in November not sure if that makes the deadline). Although they made the final later on the following games were past the voting deadline.

    Hungary played European Championship Qualifiers that year against East Germany, Denmark and Netherlands. Top their group.

    There was a FIFA XI game (like the one that helped Yashin in '63), but Albert didn't play in that.
     
  2. carlito86

    carlito86 Member+

    Jan 11, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Here is some source material that may help you find the answer to your question
    https://www.xtratime.org/forum/186-...-albert-ballon-dor-1967-a.html#/topics/180471
    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....-up-grounds-around-the-world-6255764.html?amp
    http://www.lufctalk.com/forum-archive/index.php?topic=5753
     
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  3. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    This is what German paper "Sport-Magazin" wrote in their first issue of January 1968: "...the slim, intelligent Hungarian was mostly acknowledged for his performances for Hungary in the European Nations Cup. In 1967, the captain of Hungary and his club Ferencvaros underwent an interesting tactical change which led him to a role in which also once Nandor Hidegkuti achieved his great successes: that of a midfield player. Albert evolved into a centre forward that starts threading his team's combinations in midfield, providing the goalgetters Bene and Farkas with unique passes. There is no doubt that Albert was the most popular player in Hungary in 1967 next to Vargas."
     
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  4. comme

    comme Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 21, 2003
    I recently went through and transcribed this edition and then Google translated it. Haven't tidied it up yet but this was what all the voters said at the time.

    Austria – Ferry Wimmer

    1. Gemmel 2. Muller 3. Farkas 4. Charlton 5. Kindvall

    It may have never been as difficult to make an opinion as in 1967. There is no longer a big star like Di Stefano, Kopa, Puskas. I think it is important to take into account the international competitions.

    From there, I make Gemmel the number 1 of the year, for all that he brought to the Celtic of Glasgow, champion of Europe, and even taking into account the woes of the team Scottish team in International Cup.

    Same consideration for Muller, Bayern's number 1 striker from Munich. The Hungarian Farkas may not be as complete as his prestigous leader Albert, but he scored ten goals in a row in three international matches. It's something.

    Charlton remains a sure value, while Kindvall is one of the best European scorers. He deserves to go among the big ones.

    Belgium – Jacques Lecoq

    1. Beckenbauer 2. Eusebio 3. Charlton 4. Johnstone 5. Albert

    Although the German journalists prefer Muller, I place Beckenbauer at the forefront of European football. He has restored the valour to the role of the defender which had been lost through the sweeper system. His intelligence when in possession of the ball was fully expressed in the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup

    Eusebio and Bobby Charlton led the list last year. Their value did not diminish even though they did not have the occasion to express it fully as in 1966 in the World Cup.

    I would place Johnstone second had he not tainted his superb European Cup performances by the unfortunate incidents of the Intercontinental final. Discipline and self-control must also play a part in this ranking. Finally Albert is a clearly a player of great value, confirmed by the recent unanimous vote of the Hungarian journalists.

    Bulgaria – Georges Miltchev

    1. Albert 2. Beckenbauer 3. Facchetti 4. Kotkov 5. Bjeregard


    Albert, the leader of the game of the Hungarian champion Ferencvaros and the Magyar eleven, has so far made a timid appearance in the traditional rankings of the end of the season. And yet he is not a European specialist who has made homage his omnipresence on the ground, the finesse and the intelligence of his game. A charming goalscorer, Albert received the supreme consecration, by the South American themselves, also for us it is undoubtedly the best European play today.

    The number 2 comes back from right to rangy and elegant football brain oust-Germany Beckenbauer. Great revelation of the last World Cup, Beckenbauer still dominates by its class the football of the Rhine.


    Facchetti continues to be a pearl of the terrible Calcio. After a short eclipse, he is new to the forefront of Italian football and has his place in any European ranking of the best footballer of the year.


    Kotkov is the Bulgarian revelation of the season. He not only hoisted his club (Lokomotiv Sofia) at the head of the championship at the end of the matches go, but regained his place in the national team thanks to its powerful rate of play. Kotkov, with its 16 goals marks in 16 matches, takes place rightly among the best European playmakers.


    Czechoslovakia – Rudolf Dvorak


    1. Charlton 2. Muller 3. Albert 4. Eusebio 5. Streltsov

    I think like my colleagues in Prague, that Bobby Charlton has lost nothing of its value during the year 1967. He therefore deserves to keep the first place in Europe for his influence in Manchester United and in the English national team. Charlton is for us the best player on the continent. The West German Muller arrives at the top. It is an extraordinary puncher in a German football where the defences do not make any gift to the attacker Albert, Eusebio, and the returning Sovetique Streltsov have then the favor of the main Czech critics

    Denmark – Paul Prip Andersen

    1. Beckenbauer 2. Albert 3. Pirri 4. Gemmel 5. Muller

    Beckenbauer is capable of everything. He attacks as well as he defends, with an exceptional elegance and a great purity of ball control. Bayern Munich deserved its victory in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

    I prefer him to Albert who remains out of the ordinary in attack but seems to fall in shape... Which does not prevent him from being infinitely spectacular and very useful. I'm giving Pirri my number three. He is an ideal man for the 4-2-4, a master asset of Real, he deserves a greater reputation.

    East Germany – Horst Braunlich

    1. Albert 2. Charlton 3. Riva 4. Van Himst 5. Szoltsik

    Albert deserves first place. It's a contructif play of the foreground. He made the new Hungarian team and even developed all the qualities of a world-class footballer. He is both Bozsik and Puskas simultaneously. Number 2 has to be Bobby Charlton for his very continental game. He's a smart, technical football player.

    Third place could go to Riva. His direct attacking game and vigorous play (he's the opposite of Bobby Charlton) has a very English style, making him one of the most spectacular attackers.

    Van Himst has undergone a famous evolution. The goal hunter became a complete footballer. The Polish Szoltysik, 1.62 m, is the smallest of the international-class men, but his perfect technique, his vivacity and his speed make him one of the best Europeans.

    England – Brian Glanville

    1. Best 2. Johnstone 3. Beckenbauer 4. Hurst 5. Bychevetz

    Best, the small winger of Manchester United and Northern Ireland, has become the complete footballer. He is a clairvoyant, a great dribbler, courageous, obstinate, capable of everything.

    He deserves the number 1 slot in front of Johnstone, the most exciting player of Celtic conqueror of the European Cup. Beckenbauer is unequal... but what class. Hurst’s ability has been confirmed since the World Cup. Bychevetz is the great revelation of the year. That man will go far, very far.

    France – Jacques Ferran

    1. Tchislenko 2. Albert 3. Best 4. Johnstone 5. De Felipe

    Chislenko is the scorer number 1 of the best USSR team of all time, that of 1967 (two defeats in 15 matches). He has, for his part, succeeded 1 goals. Albert continued to reign over the Hungarian attackers and made Ferencvaros an indisputable champion.

    Best and Johnstone, pocket British attackers, have developed in Manchester and Celtic.

    De Felipe, finally, has remarkably held the defense of a Real Madrid still excellent.

    Greece – Evangelos Fountoukidis

    1. Charlton 2. Albert 3. Beckenbauer 4. Johnstone 5. Riva

    I had made Bobby Charlton the best footballer 66. I consider that he remains as brilliant and efficient and that he deserves to keep the his position at the head of the big European stars.

    But I think we also have to pay homage to the exceptional play of the Hungarian Albert just as it is necessary to distinguish the race of Beckenbauer, the tone of Johnstone and the stubbornness of Riva the best attacker has my eyes of the terrible Calcio.

    Hungary – Laszlo Lukacs

    1. Albert 2. Johnstone 3. Muller 4. Charlton 5. Lubanski

    Few footballers keep their exceptional qualities as long as Florian Albert. He has been at the top for eight years and remains the incomparable conductor of Ferencvaros and the Hungarian national selection. Albert is an out-of-class game leader but also a director since he has achieved 28 goals for his club. This is the ideal contemporary forward.

    After Albert, I place the Scot Johnstone, a winger with extraordinary qualities, able to prize open the super-defences. As for Muller, the new Seeler of German football deserves a place in the sun.

    Italy – Aldo Bardelli

    1. Eusebio 2. Ball 3. Gemmel 4. Tchislenko 4. Riva

    The striker is nowadays a rare gem. It's why I class Eusebio in the first place. He remains the most effective and spectacular European striker, one of the few attackers capable of forcing the Cattenaccio.

    Ball is for me the best defender of Great Britain (does he mean Gemmel?). I consider Tchislenko has its place among the big five of 67, just like Riva the most effective front man on the peninsula.

    Luxembourg – Unspecfied

    1. Albert 2. Johnstone 3. Beckenbauer 4. Farkas 5. Pilot

    This ranking may seem unusual. But it represents the triumphant youth of High football has its highest echelon. We know what is in Eusebio or in Charlton, but do we have the right to ignore the extraordinary individual or collective performances of these boys who come to take place in the firmament of international football?

    First Albert, because he is at the head of a team of Ferencvaros, well close to revive the great Hungarian era. Master to play, he has all the great qualities to be the equal of the greatest, those who have marked the history.

    Johnstone, because he personnife the health of football Scotland, unfortunate but in progress. His speed, his shots, his dribbling, his crosses, make it one of the last real wingers.

    Beckenbauer, because it is in certain value, yet he deserves better, given his class, than a place in defence. It's the spice of a German team that, with him, sometimes knows how to be genial.

    Netherlands – Anton Witkamp

    1. Albert 2. Charlton 3. Johnstone 4. Eusebio 5. Cruyff

    Because he is the brilliant successor of all the prestigious Hungarian football artists, because he has total influence on his club team as well as on his national selection, because he is the most balanced footballer of the moment, I consider that Florian Albert deserves the 1967 golden ball.

    But I have long hesitated to place him in front of Bobby Charlton who has lost absolutely nothing of his qualities during the year. Johnstone himself, took a place of choice among the great European attackers, just like my compatriot Cruyff that I place immediately behind Eusebio.

    Northern Ireland (actually Republic, he was a writer for the Irish Times in Dublin) – Dermot Ashmore

    1. Best 2. Johnstone 3. Gemmel 4. Charlton 5. Eusebio

    Best is for me the best European attacker. He has all the qualities of Stanley Matthews and is a more fearsome scorer. Johnstone and Gemmel were the great artisans of Glasgow Celtic’s success.

    I believe that Bobby Charlton, while having had a quieter year than the previous one, is still in an irreplaceable figure in the Manchester United team and in the eleven of England.

    Same reasoning for Eusebio who continues to make the rain and the sunshine for Benfica and in the team of Portugal.


    Poland – Kasimir Gryzewski

    1. Charlton 2. Albert 3. Eusebio 4. Gemmel 5. Beckenbauer

    In a football or it is really difficult to get a very fair idea of the values, it is more reasonable, in my opinion, to be based on the class demonstrated for a few years. That's why, after consulting my journalist friends in Warsaw, I keep Bobby Charlton in first place, because he has lost nothing of his class. Same thing for Albert and Eusebio. In home of Celtic deserves to be quoted. I opt for Gemmel who cost Inter a lot. Finally, I mention the talent of Beckenbauer in a championship without mercy.


    Portugal – Couto E Santos

    1. Albert 2. Mazzola 3. Beckenbauer 4. Lubanski 5. Augusto

    Albert has confirmed, throughout this year, its very great value. If Hungary has a redoubtable offensive power, it is because it has a man like Albert, smart play, exceptional scorer, true magician of football. His dribble and his play of feints are worth gold. Inter lost big this year, but Mazzola still proves that he was a very high class player and the line of Italian celebrities of the pass. As for Beckenbauer, if his name has not been seen too much in the newspapers, it is that the internationals did not permit him. But he remains an exceptional footballer.

    Romania – Aurel Neagu

    1. Johnstone 2. Muller 3. Albert 4. Byschovetz 5. Combin

    I have chosen Johnstone, because the Celtic winger is an ideal high-tech home that completes a remarkable technique with a flowing vitality. I clase behind it the West German Muller, a goal man like there are not many on the mainland. I think Albert remains one of the most briliante footballer of the moment in a team where he has a considerable influence. Byshovets is a great revelation, perhaps the best Soviet in the power of these last six years. Finally, I consider that it is necessary to make a place a Combin that makes its place in the sun in Italy in a difficult role.

    Soviet Union – Sovietsky Sport

    1. Streltsov 2. Gemmel 3. Albert 4. Muller 5. Lubanski

    The drafting of Sovietsky Sport believes that Streltsov has found the plentitude of its means. He was (for her) not only the best Soviet of the year 1967, but the best European striker by the plenitude of his football. Sovietsky Sport considers that the Scottish rear Gemmel has been the main artisan of Celtic success in the European Cup and that he has a style anticonventionel always axis towards the attack. Finally, Sovietsky Sport holds a render homage to the talent of Albert, the leader of a most elegant orchestra of European football.

    Spain – Andres Merce Varela

    1. Eusebio 2. Rivera 3. Beckenbauer 4. Tchislenko 5. Charlton

    Eusebio continues to maintain his European supremacy. His imagination, his class, his sense of improvisation, his powerful, precise and unexpected shooting allow him to occupy an exceptional place the delights of Benfica and Da Portugal.

    Behind Eusebio, I place Rivera who has ignited the resurrection of AC Milan. Then I rank Beckenbauer who now the authentic odds of football in a championship of strength. Tchislenko is the Latin imagination, in the ungrateful collective work of the Soviets. Bobby Charlton remains the best representative of British football.

    Sweden – Wolf Lyberg

    1. Albert 2. Beckenbauer 3. Pirri 4. Gemmel 5. Hurst

    Albert held his role perfectly in the Hungarian team and Ferencvaros. He deserves an individual title which is master of team play. He is one of the greatest attackers of the last ten years. I then put three defenders in my list, three symbols of modern football. First, Beckenbauer for a final sensational of cup of cups, then Pirri, outstanding worker and good shooter, then Gemmel, the new Facchetti. As for Hurst, he is for me the first British striker.

    Switzerland – Raymond Pittet

    1. Johnstone 2. Mazzola 3. Farkas 4. Pirri 5. Riva

    I rank in the Johnstone order, which is largely in the success of Celtic, Mazzola for his achievements in matches that qualify Inter for the final of the European Cup, Farkas for his contribution to the Hungarian team and the Vasas of Budapest , Pirri, basic stone of the present Real, finally Riva who has the merit of imposing itself regularly, lean the strengthened defenses of Calcio. On the other hand, I would like to give a mention to Murdoch, Chalmers, Gemmel, Auld, Macneil, Baker, Law, Van Himst, Lubanski, Libuda, Byschovets, Blaettler, Kunzil, Sabo and Bobby Charlton.

    Turkey – Samim Var

    1. Best 2. Johnstone 3. Overath 4. Byschovets 5. Albert

    I make Best the number one, because it is always decisive, as well for Manchester United as for the team of Northern Ireland. It is fast, enterprising, collective, spectacular and dangerous where it needs to be. Behind him I place Johnstone, the man who has the most personality in the Celtic eleven. Overath then comes for the quality and the regularity of his game. Byshovets is the revelation Sovetique. His influence will go on growing. Finally, I class Albert, symbol of Hungarian football, although it seems to me in less good condition than the preceding years.

    West Germany - Hans Blickensdorfer

    1. Albert 2. Haller 3. Cebinac 4. Charlton 5. Van Himst

    With football becoming more and more a ruthless war against the stars, I hesitated before giving the first place to Albert, conductor of the play of Ferencvaros and Hungary, who continues to honour the great Magyar tradition, simultaneously cunning, elegant and effective.

    However, it must be admitted that he has an easier life than the attackers of Italian football. That is why I place Haller second, who proves in Bologna that it is always possible to penetrate a rock solid defence with exceptional qualities.

    The name of my third choice will surprise a lot of people because it is Cebinac. He is the Yugoslavian right winger of FC Nuremberg. The fantastic advantage of the leader of the Bundesliga is due in large part to the class of this small winger of 29 years, the strongest in Europe in my opinion.

    Yugoslavia – Jovan Velickovic

    1. Charlton 2. Eusebio 3. Beckenbauer 4. Greaves 5. Albert

    For personal taste, I take into account in this ranking of the complete players who do not switch to the sometimes sordid realities of modern football. You have to keep a certain amount of romance nowadays. I am done porte towards the NE players for football, which one did not learn much, towards those who consider football as a sport and not as a science. From these considerations, I believe that Bobby Charlton deserves to retain the first place acquired last year in front of the terrible goalscorer that is Eusebio.
     
  5. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    I assume that's referring to a Hungarian Player of the Year award. I found the winners on wikipedia, but with no source or voting results.

    So overall it looks like because there was nothing else going on that season with no outstanding candidate they wanted to reward him for his overall contribution in recent times and that Albert actually didn't do anything particularly special in 1967.

    Won the Hungarian league title after winning it in '64 previously, but it's not like the Hungarian league was the be-all & end-all for voters in the past 10 years. Elo rating and overall results for the best Hungarian club teams or the NT didn't improve that much either, it was always pretty good throughout the 50s & 60s.

    Ferencevaros won the ICFC & Vasas made the EC SF in '65, Florian Albert finished 6th with 7/21 voters having him on their ballot, but no 1st place votes.
     
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  6. carlito86

    carlito86 Member+

    Jan 11, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
  7. carlito86

    carlito86 Member+

    Jan 11, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    @schwuppe

    This comp was posted a few weeks ago with some great footage that wasn’t on the previous one
    It’s amazing how elegant he played the ball for Such a tall .even on black and white footage it is also noticeable how exquisite his first touch was
    Would it be fair to say his legacy was over shone by the exploits of core of the legendary mighty Magyars
    I know they didn’t exactly peak at the same time but their generations seemed to kind of overlap I guess
     
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  8. comme

    comme Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 21, 2003
    I'm not giving this as the reason he won but I've just been going through the book France Football published to celebrate 50 years of the Ballon d'Or and in the introduction it mentions that there were no rules, criteria or guidance for the award until 1995.

    So in effect voters chose their own criteria.

    That to me helped to explain some of the "stranger" choices and lack of consistency in the award. To some choosing "the best player in Europe" means of that particular year, to others a broader time period and others can choose to reward continued excellence or treat it as a lifetime achievement award.
     
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  9. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    Yeah makes sense. Think about how much disagreement about the award still exists today despite having wide exposure to all games and information.
     
  10. JoCryuff98

    JoCryuff98 Member+

    Barcelona
    Netherlands
    Jan 3, 2018
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Cruyff’s idol
     

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