France Football have announced the list of 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2016 to be held on January 9, 2017. FIFA have not yet announced their plans after discontinuing their six years of partnership
History of the Ballon d’Or The concept of awarding the best European player each year was started by the French magazine France Football, which first came up with the idea in 1956. The idea conceived
Criteria The selection criteria for the Ballon d’Or is quite extensive. The award takes into consideration not a full European season that generally takes place between the period of August to May, but performances are
Lev Yashin The Soviet goalkeeper remains the only custodian to have won the Ballon d'Or. He earned the nickname of Black Panther for his quick reflexes and reach. Yashin was a member of the inaugural
Josef Masopust (1962) The Czechoslovakia midfielder won the 1962 Ballon d’Or after garnering 65 votes – 12 more than Benfica legend Eusebio and a further 32 more than 1. FC Koln’s Karl-Heinz Schnellinger. Masopust, a
Frank Lampard, Lampard, he'll kick the ball fifty yards, he's six foot and really hard, Frank Lampard, Lampard. 1978: Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest were at the peak of their powers in 1978 as they won
Is Ballon d’Or an award for the best player on the planet? So what really is the criteria to compare a defender to a striker or even a goal keeper? Is scoring goals more