Ballon d'Or 1968
Encyclopedia
The 1968 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA
member countries, was awarded to George Best
on 24 December 1968.
Best was the first Northern Irish
national to win the award. He was the third Manchester United
player to win the trophy after Denis Law
(1964) and Bobby Charlton
(1966).
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
member countries, was awarded to George Best
George Best
George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...
on 24 December 1968.
Best was the first Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
national to win the award. He was the third Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
player to win the trophy after Denis Law
Denis Law
Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....
(1964) and Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
(1966).
Rankings
| Rank | Name | Club | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Best George Best George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders... |
Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... |
 Northern Ireland |
61 |
| 2 | Bobby Charlton Bobby Charlton Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966... |
Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... |
 Kingdom of England |
53 |
| 3 | Dragan Džajić Dragan Džajic Dragan Džajić is widely considered to have been one of the best Serbian football players to emerge from former Yugoslavia. Regarded as a preeminent and very proficient left winger, he is strongly reputed to have been one of the finest European players of his generation... |
Red Star Belgrade Red Star Belgrade Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions... |
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
46 |
| 4 | Franz Beckenbauer Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch... |
Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups.... |
 West Germany |
36 |
| 5 | Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti was an Italian football player. From January 2004 until his death, he was President of Internazionale, the club for which he played for his whole career during the 1960s and 1970s, playing 634 official games and scoring 75 goals. He played for the Internazionale team remembered... |
Internazionale F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always... |
 Italy |
30 |
| 6 | Luigi Riva Luigi Riva Luigi Riva , best known as Gigi Riva or by his nickname Rombo di Tuono , is a former Italian footballer, the all-time leading scorer for the Italian national team... |
Cagliari Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B.... |
Italy |
22 |
| 7 | Amancio Amaro Amancio Amaro Amancio Amaro Varela, commonly known simply as Amancio, is a former Spanish football player. Nicknamed El Brujo he played for Deportivo de La Coruña, Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.... |
Real Madrid Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la... |
 Spain |
21 |
| 8 | Eusébio Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM , commonly known simply as Eusébio, is a retired Mozambican-born Portuguese football forward. He is considered one of the best footballers of all-time by the IFFHS, experts and fans... |
Benfica |  Portugal |
15 |
| 9 | Gianni Rivera Gianni Rivera Giovanni Rivera is an Italian former football midfielder, mostly as an offensive playmaker, who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, in 1969. He played the majority of his career with Serie A side A.C. Milan... |
Milan A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others... |
Italy |
13 |
| 10 | Jimmy Greaves Jimmy Greaves James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit -... |
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
Kingdom of England |
8 |
| Pirri | Real Madrid Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la... |
Spain |
8 | |
| 12 | Willi Schulz Willi Schulz Willi Schulz is a former German international football player.Schulz played his first of altogether 66 games for West Germany in 1959 at a time when he was still an amateur for lower league club Union Günnigfeld... |
Hamburger SV Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department... |
West Germany |
7 |
| Antal Dunai Antal Dunai Antal Dunai, also known as Dunai II is a former Hungarian footballer. He became a first division player at Pécsi Dózsa, but he spent the majority of his career at Újpesti Dózsa from 1965 to 1977, when he moved to Debreceni VSC.... |
Újpest Dózsa Újpest FC Újpest Football Club , earlier known as Újpesti TE and Újpesti Dózsa, is a Hungarian football club, based in Újpest, Budapest. The club's colours are purple and white... |
 Hungary |
7 | |
| 14 | Georgi Asparuhov Georgi Asparuhov Georgi Rangelov Asparuhov , nicknamed Gundi was a Bulgarian football player. He is considered to be among the top Bulgarian footballers of all time.... |
Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia "Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria... |
 Kingdom of Bulgaria |
6 |
| Albert Shesternyov Albert Shesternyov Albert Alekseyevich Shesternyov was a soccer player for CSKA Moscow and the Soviet Union. He is generally regarded as the best football defender in Soviet football history.... |
Torpedo Moskva FC Torpedo Moscow FC Torpedo Moscow is an association football club, based in Moscow, Russia. The club was founded in 1930. On March 19, 2009 it was denied membership of the Professional Football League and did not play in the professional competitions in 2009... |
 Soviet Union |
6 | |
| 16 | Ove Kindvall Ove Kindvall Ove Kindvall is a former Swedish footballer .He started his career at IFK Norrköping, where he played until he joined Feyenoord in and became professional. The same year, he won the Guldbollen, as the best Swedish footballer of the year.With Feyenoord he won two national championships as well as... |
Feyenoord |  Sweden |
5 |
| 17 | Lajos Szucs Lajos Szucs (footballer born 1943) Lajos Szűcs was a Hungarian football striker, who played for Dorog, Ferencváros, Budapest Honvéd FC and Vasas Izzó... |
Ferencvárosi | Hungary |
4 |
| Alessandro Mazzola | Internazionale F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always... |
Italy |
4 | |
| Flórián Albert | Ferencvárosi | Hungary |
4 | |
| 20 | Gerd Müller Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller is a former German football player and one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time.With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was one of the... |
Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups.... |
West Germany |
3 |
| Johan Cruijff | Ajax |  Netherlands |
3 | |
| 22 | Jack Charlton Jack Charlton John "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup... |
Leeds United | Kingdom of England |
2 |
| Bobby Moore Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup... |
West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
Kingdom of England |
2 | |
| 24 | Alan Ball | Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... |
Kingdom of England |
1 |
| Ferenc Bene Ferenc Bene Ferenc Bene was a Hungarian football player of Újpesti Dózsa, who was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He was the top scorer of the tournament .Bene was born in Balatonújlak... |
Újpest Dózsa Újpest FC Újpest Football Club , earlier known as Újpesti TE and Újpesti Dózsa, is a Hungarian football club, based in Újpest, Budapest. The club's colours are purple and white... |
Hungary |
1 | |
| Angelo Domenghini Angelo Domenghini Angelo Domenghini is an Italian former footballer.Born in Lallio, province of Bergamo, he played for Italy in both the finals of the 1968 European Championship and 1970 World Cup. He played 164 times for Internazionale scoring 54 goals for the club. He also played for Cagliari. He ended his career... |
Internazionale F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always... |
Italy |
1 | |
| Mirsad Fazlagić Mirsad Fazlagic Mirsad Fazlagić is a Bosnian former footballer.He started his football career in 1957 playing for a local club in his home town of Čapljina... |
FK Sarajevo FK Sarajevo FK Sarajevo is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina and is one of the most popular clubs in the country. Founded on October 24, 1946, the club was the most successful club from SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in former Yugoslavia, winning two First League... |
Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
1 | |
| Tommy Gemmell Tommy Gemmell Thomas Gemmell is a former Scottish footballer and manager.He played as left-sided fullback and had powerful shooting ability. In October 1961, he joined Celtic from Coltness United. He was one of the 'Lisbon Lions' who won the European Cup in 1967. In the final he scored a spectacular goal that... |
Celtic Celtic F.C. Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the... |
 Kingdom of Scotland |
1 | |
| Jimmy Johnstone Jimmy Johnstone James Connolly "Jimmy" Johnstone was a Scottish football player. Johnstone was best known for his time with Celtic, and was voted their best ever player by the club's fans in 2002... |
Celtic Celtic F.C. Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the... |
Kingdom of Scotland |
1 | |
| Murtaz Khurtsilava Murtaz Khurtsilava Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava is a former Georgian footballer. He was a famed defender.... |
Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi is a Georgian football team, based in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prominent clubs in Soviet football and a major contender in the Soviet Top League almost immediately after it was established in 1936... |
Soviet Union |
1 | |
| Ivica Osim Ivica Osim Ivan "Ivica" Osim is a Bosnian former football player and manager. He was most recently head coach of Japan, before he suffered a stroke in November 2007 and left the post... |
Željezničar Sarajevo | Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
1 | |
| Louis Pilot Louis Pilot Louis Pilot is a former Luxembourgian football player and manager.In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's jubilee, he was selected by the Luxembourg Football Federation as the country's Golden Player - the greatest player of the last 50 years.-Playing career:Pilot started his footballing career at... |
Standard Liège Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège.... |
 Luxembourg |
1 |