Gianluigi Buffon One of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, Buffon is still searching for his first Champions League win. The 2006 World Cup and a seven-time Serie A winner, has finished twice as runners-up – in 2003 and 2015 – but he hasn’t gone any further. Lilian Thuram The Frenchman was an integral part of the 1998 World Cup ...

Wigan Athletic beat Manchester City (1-0), 2013 Heading into the final at Wembley, Wigan Athletic had already been relegated from the Premier League after flirting with demotion to the Championship in the seasons prior before their luck finally ran out. However, before they began life in the second tier of English football they had a chance to bid goodbye to ...

Germany and the Netherlands (7) The two rival nations have been the most dominant at the Ballon d’Or awards with their players collecting seven gongs each. For Germany the first win came from Gerd Muller, who claimed the award in 1970. Franz Beckenbauer won it twice in the 1970s before Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won it back-to-back in 1980 and 1981. Lothar ...

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared an intense rivalry over the course of their careers and are often mentioned in conversations about the greatest footballers of all time. However, such rivalry is not unique to football. Here’s a look at similar intense rivalries from other sports. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier Two of the greatest boxers of all-time had an ...

It has been quite well established that the Ballon d’Or votes tend to go more in favour of the attacking players than their defensive counterparts. But does age also play a significant part in the voting? As can be seen from the graph above, 28 players have either won or finished as runner-up at the Ballon d’or at 26, which ...

Andres Iniesta (Spain vs. Netherlands, 2010 World Cup final) Spain have always produced talented footballers with regularity but somehow its national team always conspired to come out empty-handed from the major tournaments. However, they managed to assemble another fantastic squad in the late 2000s and the team ended their long drought for a major trophy by winning the 2008 European ...

Here’s the list of the top European clubs with most Ballon d’Or winners in their ranks throughout the history of the prestigious award. Barcelona (11) The Catalan giants lead the clubs with most Ballon d’Or winners, having seen a player win the individual honour 11 times while playing for them. The dominance of Lionel Messi at the awards has definitely ...

Joe Hart (Manchester City to Torino) Any managerial change leads to upheavals, but Joe Hart probably didn’t see the sudden change of fortune that was to come his way after the appointment of Pep Guardiola at the helm of Manchester City. The long-serving Citizens’ custodian and a crowd favourite became a pariah and it was quickly made clear to him ...