Gianluigi Buffon
Although the legendary Italian goalkeeper has never been able to win the Champions League, he is the winner of the World Cup, which should compensate that. If we collect all the trophies and honours that Buffon has won throughout his career, which continues now, we can certainly fill a huge room with gold. In addition, he has been declared 12 times the best goalkeeper of Serie A, he has also been the best goalkeeper 3 times in Europe. Five times he fell into the ideal UEFA team and the 2006 World Cup. has been declared the best goalkeeper of the tournament. It was then that his big chance to fight for the Golden Ball, but he remains second after his teammate and captain of Squadra Azura Fabio Cannavaro.
Frank Ribery
Henry, whose career was about to be sent to ignorance, was literally rescued from Arsenal, where he became a true legend. He holds a bunch of records with the “artillery” team, and in addition to the many trophies won with the London club, the attacker also has a serious number of individual honours. He is a four-time Premier League goal scorer, a two-time Golden Shoe winner of Europe, has twice been elected player of the season in England and has been in a total of 6 times in the ideal Premier league team. However, his turn for the “Golden Ball” never came. The closest was in 2003 when he remained in second position after Paul Nedved, and many still believe that Henry was worth more for the prize. In 2006 he remained third.
Paolo Maldini
The Italian master of the game in defence is a real example of sports longevity. In addition to competing until almost 41 years of age, Maldini never showed that his age was affecting him. The legendary defender had such a big contribution to the piles of trophies won by Milan that when he decided to hang the buttons, the Devils pulled out the number 3 from usage. It is difficult for us to indicate exactly which season Maldini could be “given” The Golden Ball, simply because he literally didn’t have a weak season. He remained third in the ranking – in 1994 and 2003. At that time, the distinction was awarded to Hristo Stoichkov and Pavel Nedved respectively.
Andres Iniesta
Iniesta did not receive the golden ball, two times in the shadow of the two great geniuses of today’s football – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite a number of individual prizes and awards, the midfielder was most close to the Golden Ball in 2010 when he remained in second position, although he scored the winning goal in the World Cup final. But then the prize went into the hands of Lionel Messi. A year later, “Celebro” remained fourth, and another 12 months later – third.
Wesley Snyder
Throughout his career, the Dutch midfielder has been neglected. It happened when he moved to Real Madrid, it happened and when he had to be votet for the number one football player in the world in 2010. Snyder has several seasons at top level, but definitely his strongest was in 2009/10 when he was in the prime of his power. At the end of the campaign of 09/10, his Inter won a treble, and the Dutch was a key figure in Jose Mourinho’s scheme. At the subsequent World Cup, the “tulips” reached the final, again not without the help of a Snyder, who scored 5 goals. However, the “Golden Ball” went into the hands of Leo Messi, second and third place were given to his teammates in Barcelona Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.
Thierry Henry
Henry, whose career was about to be sent to ignorance, was literally rescued from Arsenal, where he became a true legend. He holds a bunch of records with the “artillery” team, and in addition to the many trophies won with the London club, the attacker also has a serious number of individual honours. He is a four-time Premier League goal scorer, a two-time Golden Shoe winner of Europe, has twice been elected player of the season in England and has been in a total of 6 times in the ideal Premier league team. However, his turn for the “Golden Ball” never came. The closest was in 2003 when he remained in second position after Paul Nedved, and many still believe that Henry was worth more for the prize. In 2006 he remained third.
Andrea Pirlo
One of the most intelligent players ever stepped on the green carpet, Pirlo was among the few who recorded matches for the three great Italian colossus – Inter, Milan and Juventus. Although he wins a solid number of trophies and wins the Champions league 2 times, the midfielder does not receive the most prestigious individual award in football. Pirlo is in the top 10 of the Golden Ball standings 3 times, but his record is fifth in 2007. In 2012 he remains seventh, and in 2006. – ninth.
Samuel Eto’o
The Cameroonian is a true legend of Barcelona, and has won some trophies and honours during his colourful career. Eto’o has been selected 4 times as Africa’s number 1 football player, has been in the UEFA ideal team twice and has even become the number 1 striker of Europe. He won the Champions League with 2 different teams and became the top goal scorer of the season in La Liga and in the tournament for the Italian Cup. He also became the top goal scorer of two editions of the African Nations Cup. Either way, however, the Cameroonian has never been ranked even in the top 3 of the Golden Ball vote, despite the huge number of hits he has made throughout his career. It would definitely not be undeserved to become the second African after George Wea, who received this award.
Frank Lampard
English football players are often underestimated in the Golden Ball vote – an opinion that a huge part of the Premier League fans shares. And if a person starts to remember the British players who deserved to win the “Golden ball” in the last 20 years, Frank Lampard is definitely among the first to remember. He is one of the most important football players for Chelsea, which has been one of the most successful teams in the world in the last 20 years. In addition to a number of trophies with the blue T-shirt, Frankie has also won numerous individual awards, including best player of the season in the Premier League, has been included three times in the Best team of the season and has become the footballer with the most assist in the Premier League three times. However, Lampard has one second place in the Golden Ball ranking and it was in 2005 when Ronaldinho won the prize.
Robert Lewandowski
In the last 10 years, Lewandowski has established himself as one of the most effective goal scorers on the planet, scoring nearly 300 goals in the First Bundesliga with the teams Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. In 2015 he remains fourth in the fight for the Golden Ball, but it does not discourage him, but on the contrary. In 2020 he helps Bayern win the Champions League by scoring 15 goals in the tournament. He has been declared the best player according to FIFA, and also falls into various Dream teams of the UEFA season, the First Bundesliga, as well as the International Football History and Statistics Federation. However, the editors of France Football decide that they have to cancel the 2020 award because of the pandemic situation and because some of the championships (including the French) are not played. This is a real blow to Lewandowski, who with absolute certainty is the most impressive footballer on the planet for this moment.
