Best Footballer of the Year since 1908

I don't understand why Florian Albert wins in 1967 (same goes for the Ballon D'Or)

 

Thierry Henry should of won Fifa player of the year in 2006.

But it was hard because thierry had to compete with Ronaldo 9, Ronaldinho and Zidane.

 

I'm not saying I disagree with you but I read once somewhere that the surprise beatings against Liverpool and vice-champions Zaragoza had something to do with that.

 

Wow now that's ridiculous, especially if you consider that Albert scored 0 goals in those 4 games.

 

Why Zidane first in 2001, other than being the world's most expensive player at that time?

 

Yes, that is in favour of him. He won the Hungarian league against sides that also did very well in Europe. So sad those days will never return...

 

Good list Peru, as I admit I do not have much info of players pre-war or upto 50's

Now from 50's onward ...
- 1987: I would give it to Gullit (edged out Maradona that year)
- 2001: not sure Zidane was derserved that year - Figo would deserve a bit more ... or even Rivaldo could have been
- 2006: Buffon would be a "honorable winner" as Henry was very good but Ronaldinho was clearly better up to WC06, and at WC06 Buffon did better than both.

 

Being Topscorer in the Fairs Cup and the Hungarian league makes him the best player in the world? Really?

Ferencvaros made it only to the 3rd round in 66/67 and he scored half of his goals in 7-1 blowout against some Swedish team.

Yeah I know that the Hungarian league was Top 3 in Europe back then and I have no other option in mind currently (might look at SA??) - worst season that's enough to be the best player in the World ever?

 

Great list! Nice blog too. I write some comments of my own below.

- Im not sure Nasazzi is a fair choice for 1930. There was no league in Uruguay that year and that WC was not a proper one, since none of the strong European sides took part in it. I would take Meazza instead (champion and top scorer in Italy with almost a goal per game, Mitropa semifinalist and top scorer with 7 goals. plus 5 goas in his first 6 games with the Italian national team that won the Central European International Cup; he scored a hat-trick against Hungary in the last game of that competition)

- For 1935 I would consider Sarosi. He was runner-up in Hungary with Ferencvaros scoring 22 times in 21 games. On the other hand, he did help the team win the Hungarian Cup that year. He was also Mitropa Cup finalist and top scorer with 9 goals in 8 games. He was very prolific with the national team as well, particularly against Austria, finish as the top scorer of the 1933-35 Central European International Cup.

- I guess Erico is a fair choice for 1937. But once again Sarosi is up there imo, though. The Hungarian won the Mitropa Cup, being the tournament’s top scorer with 12 goals. He was playing the Central European International Cup with Hungary and was top scorer of the competition by the time it was interrupted due to the German occupation of Austria. He helped his team reach the 2nd place in the Hungarian league, being among to top scorers there as well with 29 goals in 19 games.

- Bican cartainly was outstanding in 1940 (and the rest of the early 40s for that matter), but one gotta consider the where and when... Leónidas had one of his best seasons in Brazil. He was top scorer (30 goals in 24 games) and Carioca runner-up with Flamengo (just a point behind Fluminense). With 13 more goals in 8 games of the Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament he was holding the team at the top of the classification until the competition was cancelled after the first round. Though mostly with negative results for Brazil, he scored 4 times in matches against Argentina that year and 2 more in games against Uruguay.

- As awesome as Moreno was, 1942 I belive belongs to Pedernera.. He won his 4th Argentinean championship (and second consecutive) with La Máquina being a fundamental part of the squad (he was the catalyst, really). Pedernera and Moreno were the most determinant pieces of that memorable assembly. With 23 goals scored, he was only second to Rinaldo Martino’s 25 in the top scorers list. He was South American Championship runner-up too. This season, La Máquina gave Boca another severe beating; 4-0 in a formidable show of superiority. But the best came in the second round: down 0-2 against the archrival in La Bombonera and with ten men, Pedernera scored two goals for the draw that made River champion again… and got to celebrate it in La Boca! The sweetest moment in the short history of a mythical team.

- If you rated Bican for 1940, why not in 1943 and 44?

- Pedernera did not play the 1945 Copa America... Neither did Labruna. I actually think Felix Loustau made decent merits this year: He was Argentinean champion with River Plate (scored 9 goals being a winger) and South American champion with Argentina (scored 2 goals in that tournament). During the latter, after the match against hosts Chile (a 1-1 draw, the only game Argentina did not win), his marker, who had been continuously outdone by Loustau, carried him out of the field on his shoulders while the audience dedicated him a loud ovation. Perhaps as memorable was his gol olímpico for a win against archrival Boca.

- No Ferenc Deak in 1946?

- IMO 1953 should be for Hidegkuti. Honvéd had added Czibor to a squad already full of stars. Nevertheless, Hidegkuti led the way to the Hungarian league title for his Vörös Lobogó scoring 23 goals in 26 games (only behind Puskás and Kocsis among top scorers), a performance that made him the best player in Hungary that year. Plus, he managed 8 goals in 7 games with the Hungarian national team, including a hat-trick against England in London (Hungary won 6-3) that would solidify his place within the Mighty Magyars.

- Kocsis takes the top spot in 1954 imo, as he was winner, top scorer (33 goals in 26 appearances, which also made him seasonwise world top scorer for 2nd time in 3 years) and best player of the tournament in the Hungarian league. Hungary lost the World Cup final (the only game of the competition in which Kocsis did not manage to score any goals), but Kocsis was Silver Ball and Golden Boot with 11 goals in 5 games. That year he scored a completely ridiculous 23 goals in 14 games at country level, including 2 hat-tricks and 4 goals in the group stage against the West Germany that would ultimately snatch the Cup from Hungary’s hands.

- 1974 I give to Cruyff (his fourth in a row..). Perhaps at the peak of his career Cruyff arrived at Barcelona after winning three consecutive European Cups with Ajax and led the Catalan side to its only league title between 1960 and 1985, netting 16 goals in 26 matches and displaying the array of skills that made him one of the best ever. At the World Cup he put together one of the most brilliant individual performances of all time, leading the Clockwork Orange to the final after obliterating Argentina (4-0, Cruyff scored twice) and defeating Brazil (2-0, Cruyff scored the second goal). In the decisive match against hosts West Germany a fantastic personal play by Cruyff generated a penalty and the momentary advantage for the Netherlands after just a couple of minutes played. Berti Vogts and the rest of the German defense worked hard to keep the genius under control during the rest of the game and ultimately took the win. Some call it an upset, but it has to be considered that West Germany was the host, the European champion at the time, and featured some of the best and most renowned footballers in the world back then. Johan Cruyff received the Golden Ball award regardless of the negative result in the final and took home the Ballon d'Or as well.

- I dont really know how much Beckenbauer stood out in that Bayern that in 1975 had a horrible Bundesliga season... I give 1975 to Elias Figueroa, one of the best and most accomplished central defenders ever, he was the pillar of Porto Alegre side Internacional that won in 1975 the fourth out of five consecutive Gaúcho titles and, more importantly, the clubs first ever national side title beating Cruzeiro in the Brasileirao final. That was the game in which the Chilean scored his famous Gol Iluminado that gave Internacional the win and the title. Figueroa was selected South American Player of the Year for second time in a row in 1975.

- Now I return the favor and give the n1 spot to Beckenbauer in 1976. After a poor 1974-75 season in Bundesliga, Bayern Munich entered the title fight once again and finished in the third place led by its captain, who managed 5 goals without missing a single league game. That year the Munich side won its third consecutive European Cup, with Der Kaiser having a notable performance in the final, where he was largely responsible for the winning goal scored by Roth. He was selected German Player of the Year. Bayern Munich would go on and defeat Cruzeiro for the Intercontinental Cup by the end of the year too. Beckenbauer also captained West Germany to the European Championship final that they lost against Czechoslovakia on penalties. His performance earned him a mention in the Team of the Tournament. He was also the winner of that year's Ballon d'Or.

I got a bit long, sorry

 

Pedro Rocha was one of the best South American players of those times and in 1967 he was Uruguayan champion with Peñarol as well as South American champion with Uruguay. He was selected Best Player of the Tournament of the 1967 Copa America...

 

I can't say much about Figueroa, but Beckenbauer was an absolute force despite Bayern doing so bad. The whole team (except Kaiser, Breitner & Maier IIRC) went missing after winning it all (WC and CL).

I got this info from a post made by Gregoriak, hopefully he can elaborate it further.


By the way Peru: Is your list for season (1950/1951) or year (1951)?
EDIT: Question was answered in post #17.

 

Fair enough.

But you gotta admit that there are LOTS of (even non-WC) years where he doesn't even make the Top 5 Worldwide.

 

Best Footballer of the Year 1910

Congrats mate, this is a great thread!

I'm not familiar with the 1910 winner. I think he doesn't get a great career with England.

 

Why Bob Crompton and not an other teammate of Blackburn? Such an award is not about the amount of caps someone accumulates but about peak performance in a given year.

(until the 1920s it has to be an British player for each year I think)

 

Well, the Ballon d'or winners of the last 20 years aren't always the captains of their respective clubs or countries (at a glance I think the majority of them weren't). Although some coaches insist that the best player has to be the captain, it is not always the case. Captaincy is even in these meritocratic days based on seniority, let alone the pre-war eras I suppose. Also, the coach will not change the captain every new season and hand the band to the perceived best player.

But also 'just' a left-back. While I think we often tend to overrate attackers, for the sake of consistency and coherence of a list we should maybe neglect these positions...

For example, yes.

Agreed.