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The Golden Ball, the award that goes to the best player during the FIFA World Cup, was first awarded in the 1982 edition.
Italy striker Paolo Rossi was the first player to be awarded the gong and since then there have been eight further winners, with no individual having claimed the prize twice.
Often, the winner of the award has gone to a player who has not been on the winning side. Indeed, only Rossi, Diego Maradona and Romario have claimed both the World Cup and the Golden Ball in the same edition.
It has been five World Cups since this illustrious double was last completed, with four runners-up since taking the prize. The exception to that rule is Uruguay attacker Diego Forlan, who claimed the award in South Africa 2010 despite finishing fourth in the competition.
Lionel Messi claimed the Golden Ball at Brazil 2014, despite a relatively modest tournament by his illustrious standards, in which he was eclipsed by Thomas Muller and James Rodriguez in terms of goal scoring. Remarkably, James did not even break into the top three.
It is the FIFA technical committee that draws up the shortlist for the award and members of the media who vote towards the winner.
Here are the five greatest Golden Ball victors of all time:
#5 Ronaldo (France 1998)
On the morning of the World Cup final, the France squad’s tactical chat, which normally lasts a handful of minutes, stretched to an hour. Zinedine Zidane told L’Equipe: “I saw Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc and [coach] Aime Jacquet. They were talking about Ronaldo: ‘If Ronaldo dribbles like this or like that, we’ll have to combat him in this manner.’”
It was little surprise that such accomplished defenders should be speaking of the striker, who had come off an electric season with Inter and was undoubtedly the greatest player on the planet going into the competition.
In France, he had lived up to his billing, scoring four goals and creating three more as Brazil ploughed their way to the final. His mix of power, pace and deadly finishing had been to the fore throughout, most notably against Chile in the round of 16 and the Netherlands in the semi-final.
Only fate would deny Ronaldo the opportunity to really make his mark on the ultimate stage this time around. He took ill before the final, was initially named in the starting XI then withdrawn before ultimately starting the match. He was, however, just a shadow of himself and Brazil were beaten 3-0 by the host nation.
Ronaldo did manage to get a measure of personal revenge four years later as he scored both goals as Brazil beat Germany to lift the title – a fitting monument to a great career that could have been so much greater had it not been for serious injury.
#4 Zinedine Zidane (Germany 2006)
Germany 2006 would end in personal disaster for Zinedine Zidane, who made his exit from the competition and professional football having been sent off infamously for a headbutt on Marco Materazzi.
Until that point, though, he had played quite gloriously, turning in what was the best individual attacking display in a World Cup finals tournament in a generation.
After a rather bland group stage from the French, they caught light in the knockout stages and much of that owed to the brilliance of Zidane.
The graceful brilliance of his performances against Spain and Brazil in the last 16 and quarter-finals respectively will be remembered forever by footballing purists, while he was also decisive against Portugal from the penalty spot in the semi-final before putting Les Bleus ahead in the final. Again it was a penalty, but facing the great Gianluigi Buffon he simply clipped a Panenka down the middle, apparently oblivious to pressure he was supposed to be under.
Of course, it all ended with him seeing red in Berlin. Italy went on to win a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw and Zizou was denied his second World Cup trophy.
Eight years earlier, he had been France’s hero as he scored twice in the final as they beat Brazil 3-0, but there can be little doubt that this was his finest World Cup.
#3 Romario (USA 1994)
Before Brazil had Ronaldo, they had Romario, who was the mentor to the teenage striker, a member of the 1994 World Cup squad who was still wearing braces as Dunga lifted the game’s greatest prize following a penalty shootout win over Italy.
That bland final, utterly forgettable save for Roberto Baggio’s disastrous penalty over the bar in the shootout, was an unjust manner in which to finish the competition for a team that has shown so much attacking strength.
And strength was the word. Barrel-chested and with the spirit of a lion, this rather atypical Brazil team were led by the physical menace of Romario. He was not a graceful player in the spirit of the South American nation, but instead a fierce specimen of an attacker who offered unrivalled instincts in front of goal.
He opened Brazil’s account in a 2-0 win over Russia and would score in all three of their group stage matches.
His success continued in the knockout stages, grabbing the first in a thrilling 3-2 win over the Netherlands in the last 16 then decisive against surprise-package Sweden in the semi-finals.
When it came to the penalty shootout against Italy, of course, he held his nerve, capping a tournament that was the high point of his career.
#2 Paolo Rossi (Spain 1982)
The inaugural Golden Ball winner was also one of the best. Paolo Rossi came into the 1982 World Cup with a point to prove, having been suspended domestically for his involvement in a betting scandal, which he always denied.
He had missed the 1980 European Championship as a result of what he branded “an injustice”, while he only returned to action just in time to play the end of the 1981-82 season with Juventus. Prior to the World Cup, he had made only three competitive appearances in two years.
His performances in the group stage seemed to confirm fears that he was not sharp enough to play at this standard off the back of such preparation, though head coach Enzo Bearzot took the brave decision to stick by him heading into the knockout rounds.
If it was Italy’s defence that was to the fore in their 2-1 win over Argentina, Rossi grabbed centre stage against tournament favourites Brazil as he scored an incredible semi-final hat-trick.
In the final against Germany, he would open the scoring to set the foundation for his side to win 3-1. It was his sixth of the tournament and back home all was forgiven.
Meanwhile, he claimed a unique treble of Golden Ball, Golden Boot, and World Cup.
#1 Diego Maradona (Mexico 1986)
During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Diego Maradona gave undoubtedly the best individual performance that the competition has ever seen.
The Napoli player set the benchmark for those to come after him, which even Messi has not been able to live up to for the national side.
Over the course of the tournament, he scored five goals and created five more, though it was really only in the knockout stage that he exploded into life.
Indeed, his performance in the quarter-final against England has gone down in history as one of the iconic individual displays. It showed the incredible dichotomy of Maradona’s character, as he opened the scoring with his famous ‘Hand of God’ goal then got the second with the most incredible solo run that saw him go by innumerable challenges before scoring from a tight angle.
He also proved decisive in the semi-final against Belgium, against whom he netted twice. It was during this match that one of the most iconic football images was shot, with a bunch of opposing defenders looking positively terrified as the Argentine No.10 sizes them up.
Maradona then led Argentina to a 3-2 success over West Germany in the final in front of over 114,000 fans, leaving a legacy for the national team that even the great Messi has thus far struggled to match.
