'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Ballon d'Or is an award given to the best player annually and is the best individual accolade a player can have.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the Ballon d’Or award to such an extent in the last decade or so that many of us will actually struggle to name some of the past winners of the coveted award.
Five forgotten Ballon d'Or winners:
The likes of Ricardo Kaka, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Zinedine Zidane are players who are worshipped by most fans, young and old. But there have been some past Ballon d'Or winners than many of us haven’t heard much about.
On that note, let’s take a look at five forgotten Ballon d’Or winners not many talk about:
#5 Michael Owen - 2001
Michael Owen made an instant impact after making his debut for Liverpool as a teenager. Despite his young age, he had the world at his feet.
A player who relied on his incredible burst of pace and clinical finishing ability, Michael Owen often found it easy to breach the meanest of defences.
Owen made his debut for Liverpool in 1997. Only a couple of years later, he was scoring memorable World Cup goals for England and finishing as the top scorer in the Premier League. Not bad for a teenager, eh?
Michael Owen lifted the Ballon d’Or award in 2001, ahead of the likes of Raul and Oliver Kahn. Despite that, not many fans talk about the retired English striker.
The Ballon d'Or winner's pace was a double-edged sword, though, as he was often fouled by defenders. With his dreaded muscle injuries plaguing the latter part of his year, things started going downhill after Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid.
Things never really worked out for the Englishman in the Spanish capital. Subsequent spells at Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City never really saw Owen get back to his best.
Nevertheless, Owen was so much better than what the final years of his career would suggest. In an honest interview with BT Sport, Owen revealed how badly the injuries affected him. His persona in front of the camera is perhaps more popular than what he conjured as a player.
Most modern-day fans will perhaps never know how deadly a player Michael Owen once was and just how much defenders feared his searing pace.
#4 Pavel Nedved - 2003
Pavel Nedved was signed as a replacement for Zinedine Zidane. But despite enjoying an incredible spell at Juventus, not many modern-day fans talk about the 2003 Ballon d'Or winner.
Blessed with pace and incredible technical ability, Nedved was one of the most challenging players to play against on the transition. His off-the-ball work ethic also earned him rave reviews, as his game was not all about pace.
To many, Nedved’s Ballon d’Or win over Thierry Henry in 2003, a player with better stats at the time, was blasphemous. But as mentioned before, Nedved’s game was so much more than just goals and assists.
The blonde bombshell managed just 14 cumulative goals in the Serie A and the Champions League that season, but his overall contribution to Juventus was massive. In Zidane’s absence, Juventus lost some of the glitz and quality in their midfield and attack; Nedved’s arrival from rivals Lazio changed that.
With the Ballon d'Or winner on the rampage and a solid defence to boot, Juventus won the Serie A title and fell at the final hurdle in the Champions League against AC Milan. What could have been had the former Ballon d'Or winner not been suspended for that final at Old Trafford in 2003!
#3 Matthias Sammer - 1996 Ballon d'Or winner
In modern-day football, not many defensive players or defenders win the Ballon d’Or award. Fabio Cannavaro was the last centre-back to win the elusive award in 2006, but Matthias Sammer is the last player to have won the Ballon d'Or award (1996) while playing as the libero.
Just describing the libero role isn’t good enough, as it was more than just orchestrating play from the back. As a libero, Sammer was scary good in building up play from the back but was equally adept in snuffing out danger and doing the dirty work at the back.
At his peak, the 1996 Ballon d'Or winner ran the show for Borussia Dortmund from his own half, helping them win back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 1995 and 1996. BvB's one and only Champions League title triumph in 1997 was also massive for the club, as it cemented Sammer's place in the history books as one of the best liberos in the game.
#2 Igor Belanov – 1986 Ballon d'Or winner
In a decade dominated by Michel Platini and some legendary Dutch players, Igor Belanov’s name as a Ballon d'Or winner does spring a surprise. But Belanov’s talent and output on the pitch perhaps deserved him the Ballon d’Or accolade.
Playing for the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Belanov scored four goals in as many games. It was perhaps a surprise that the Soviet Union did not make it past Belgium in the pre-quarterfinal, but Belanov certainly caught the eye with his performances.
That year, Belanov helped Dynamo Kyiv win the Soviet League and the Cup Winners Cup. Under the meticulous Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Kyiv played some entertaining football, with Belanov at the heart of it all.
He did not have the playboy looks of someone like Michel Platini or perhaps wasn’t as stylish as Ruud Gullit, but boy Belanov did leave a mark on the pitch! With his pace and ability to glide past defenders, Belanov was pretty easy on the eye.
He was perhaps not popular enough because he spent a large part of his career playing for Dynamo Kyiv. Although he had a brief spell in the Bundesliga, the 1986 Ballon d'Or winner was well past his peak.
#1 Oleg Blokhin – 1975 Ballon d'Or winner
Oleg Blokhin was another player who was part of the exciting Dynamo Kyiv and Soviet Union teams of the late 1970s and 1980s. He won the Ballon d'Or award in 1975
The mercurial forward scored 42 times in 112 appearances for the Soviet Union and a record 266 goals for Dynamo Kyiv. It’s unlikely these marks will be eclipsed any time soon.
Like Belanov, Blokhin was blessed with electric pace and was a deadly finisher. He was a pretty skilful forward too, and with someone like Lobanovskyi coaching him, goals were always going to be the outcome.
Blokhin's goal in the first leg of the European Super Cup against Bayern Munich in 1975 perhaps best epitomised the qualities he possessed as a player.
He used his speed to ease past Georg Schwarzenbeck, an accomplished, versatile defender.
Just when it looked like Bayern had regrouped to avert the danger, Blokhin used his quick feet and incredible burst of pace to leave Franz Beckenbauer for dead, which was no easy feat. And the finish, to beat Sepp Maier, one of the best goalkeepers at the time, was top notch too.
Blokhin never really tried his luck in some of the more popular foreign leagues. That is perhaps one of the reasons why he isn’t as popular as some of the other legends to have won the Ballon d’Or award in the 1970s.
