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The Ballon d’Or is to football what the Oscar is to film and the Pulitzer is to journalism, an annual award given in recognition of amazing feats over the past calendar year. Conceived by sports writer Gabriel Hanot, the Ballon d'Or award has been recognising the world’s best football player every year since 1956 and has since been widely regarded as the highest individual honour a player can receive.
Unfortunately, as the winner of the Ballon d’Or poses triumphantly with their trophy, they leave behind them a number of unlucky also-rans, players who came close to being considered for the prize but ultimately fell short.
No one has more of these trophies than Lionel Messi, who claimed a record sixth Ballon d’Or in 2019. However, if you keep the outstanding achievements of the little Argentinian aside and cast your eye down the list of past winners all the way back to when Sir Stanley Matthews claimed the first one in 1956, there seems to be a remarkable lack of South American players.
This is made even more surprising when you consider South America’s incredibly rich footballing history - besides producing two of the all-time greats in Pele and Diego Maradona, it has been churning out absolute legends for both club and country as far as anyone can remember.
The explanation for this seemingly glaring omission is simple, if somewhat unfair. As it happens, the Ballon d’Or was intended as an award solely for European players to win. In fact, it was only in 1995 that it was expanded to include players from all over the world who had been active at a European club during the year in question.
In 2007, it was further expanded to a global prize, with every footballer in the world becoming eligible. Therefore, it’s not that Pele and Maradona weren’t as good as everyone says they were - they simply weren’t eligible for the prize when they were at the peak of their powers.
If you regard this as an injustice, you would be glad to know that in 2016, France Football published a reevaluation of all the Ballon d’Or awards presented before 1995. As a result, no less than 12 of the 39 awards presented during this time were retrospectively awarded to South American players, with the original recipients remaining unchanged. As a result, the likes of Pele, Maradona, Garrincha, and Mario Kempes can now count themselves as Ballon d’Or winners. Maradona and Pele also received honorary Ballon d'Or awards for their services to football in 1996 and 2013, respectively.
Despite these instances of delayed awards, there is still a whole host of South American stars who never managed to get their hands on the coveted trophy despite having highly illustrious careers in club football as well as in the international arena. On that note, here’s a look at the 5 greatest South American players never to have won the Ballon d’Or.
#1. Gabriel Batistuta
Widely regarded as one of the most complete strikers of his generation, Gabriel Batistuta lit up the late 90s with his power, technique, and clinical finishing. Nicknamed ‘Batigol’ for his exploits on the pitch, Batistuta regularly crossed the 20-goal mark in the Serie A, where he spent the majority of his club career. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone with a more powerful shot, an attribute that served him well throughout his career.
Having won trophies with River Plate and Boca Juniors, Batistuta moved to Fiorentina, where he is regarded as a club legend. The Argentine is Fiorentina’s all-time top-scorer with 152 strikes, even staying with the club following relegation to Serie B in 1993. He subsequently helped the club lift the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana before moving to Roma in 2000 where he won his one and only Scudetto. A brief loan spell at Inter Milan was followed by a couple of seasons in Qatar with Al-Arabi before injuries forced him to hang up his boots in 2005.
His success at club level was replicated on the international stage as well, bagging 54 goals in 77 games for Argentina, a record held until it was surpassed by Messi in 2016. He featured in three FIFA World Cups, scoring 10 goals, making him Argentina's all-time top scorer in the competition. He is also the only player in football history to score two hat-tricks in different World Cups. Batistuta also won two consecutive Copa América titles (1991 and 1993), the 1993 Artemio Franchi Trophy, and the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup with the national team. Despite his impressive exploits with club and country, the closest ‘Batigol’ came to winning the Ballon d’Or was a fourth-place finish in 1999.
#2. Romario
The 90s saw a new breed of strikers come through the ranks, those who were not just confined to the penalty box but would also drop back into midfield or even drift out to the flanks to pick the ball up and disorient defenders with their dribbling and quick bursts of acceleration.
The Brazilian Romario was considered among the best of the bunch, thanks to his excellent balance and significant strength despite his small stature. Using his explosive pace to outrun opponents and his low centre of gravity to beat defenders with quick turns, he utilised his trademark ‘toe-punt’ finish to score loads of goals throughout his career.
In addition to his goalscoring, he was also known for his creativity and vision which gave him the ability to link up with and provide assists for teammates as well. As a result, he was part of incredibly formidable strike partnerships for his club sides as well as the Brazilian national team.
Having started his club career in his native Brazil, Romario moved to PSV Eindhoven in 1988 and lit up the Eredivisie with 165 goals in 167 games over five seasons. He went on to become part of Johan Cryuff’s ‘Dream Team’ at Barcelona, linking up with Hristo Stoichkov to devastating effect.
He subsequently returned to Brazil, where he shot up the goal-scoring charts to second on the all-time list in the Brazilian league with 154 goals, before winding up his club career with brief stints in Qatar, the United States, and Australia. He enjoyed similar success at the international level, with his 55 goals in 70 appearances putting him fourth on the all-time goal-scoring list.
Romario also played a starring role in Brazil’s World Cup triumph, winning the Golden Ball after the final. Further individual honours include coming fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, being selected in the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and being named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. In fact, the aforementioned retrospective awarding of the Ballon d’Ors to include South American players in 2016 saw Romario credited with the trophy for 1994, but the honour eluded him during his actual playing days.
#3. Diego Forlan
From being a cult hero at Manchester United to hitting stellar heights at Villareal, Atletico Madrid, and the Uruguayan national team, Diego Forlan enjoyed a lot of success throughout his football career.
A two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe, Forlan lit up the FIFA World Cup in 2010, sharing the Golden Boot and winning the Golden Ball alongside scoring what was adjudged to be the best goal of the tournament. A talented, technically gifted, hardworking and creative player with an eye for goal, Forlán was an undoubted asset for every team he played for.
Following spells in Uruguay and Argentina, Forlan arrived in Europe with a move to Manchester United in 2002. Despite winning the Premier League in 2002-03 and the FA Cup in 2003-04, he never really hit his stride in England.
However, his habit of scoring late winners in crucial games endeared him to the Old Trafford faithful and he left a fan favourite in 2004 when he moved to Villareal. He was the top-scorer in La Liga in his first season and repeated that feat when he switched to Atletico Madrid two seasons later. After helping Atleti to a Europa League win in 2010 followed by his World Cup heroics, Forlan had spells at Inter Milan, Internacional, Cerezo Osaka, Peñarol, Mumbai City, and Kitchee before hanging up his boots as recently as August 2019.
#4. Hernan Crespo
Considering his impressive goals return wherever he played his football, Hernan Crespo perhaps does not get the respect his numbers deserve. A fast, tenacious, and powerful striker at his peak, the Argentine was the complete package.
He had excellent technique, composure in front of goal, and the ability to finish clinically with both feet as well as his head. Moreover, his intelligent movement brought his teammates into play as well, and it’s no surprise that goals and trophies followed him where he went. When he retired, Crespo had scored over 300 goals in his distinguished career.
His career honours include multiple league and cup titles at River Plate, Lazio, and Inter as well as trophies at AC Milan and Chelsea.
His 35 goals for Argentina also see him take the fourth spot on the all-time list, winning a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics along the way. Interestingly, despite having a career that spanned almost two decades, Crespo was never sent off, another positive next to his glittering trophy cabinet filled with team and personal accolades.
#5. Cafu
Only a handful of defenders have ever been awarded the Ballon d’Or, with Fabio Cannavaro being the most recent to receive the award in 2006. However, when it comes to defenders who have come closest to winning the prize without actually doing so, few would argue with Cafu being at the top of the list.
One of the most dependable full-backs you could possibly wish for, Cafu completed every task required of him with great accomplishment. His full-back pairing with the more flamboyant Roberto Carlos on the opposite flank is perhaps one of the most iconic in football history, and the duo served Brazil well for a number of years.
Cafu’s dynamism, grit, pace, stamina, tactical nous, and superb passing ability won him fans wherever he plied his trade. He won titles with Sao Paulo and Palmeiras in Brazil and also enjoyed success in Europe with Real Zaragoza, AS Roma, and most famously, AC Milan.
Besides his undoubted footballing ability, Cafu was also a leader in every sense of the word. He represented Brazil in four World Cups, becoming the only player to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals. He went on to win two of those three, the second of those as captain in 2002. He also helped Brazil win the Copa America twice on his way to accumulating a number of team and personal honours, but football’s greatest individual honour, the Ballon d'Or eventually eluded him.
