1956 Ballon d'Or

1956 Ballon d'Or
1956 Ballon d'Or winner Stanley Matthews in 1962
Date18 December 1956
LocationParis, France
Presented byFrance Football
Highlights
Won by Stanley Matthews (1st award)
Websitefrancefootball.fr/ballon-d-or

The 1956 Ballon d'Or was the inaugural Ballon d'Or award given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries.[1] Stanley Matthews received the award on 18 December 1956.[2][3]

Rankings

Rank Name Club(s) Nationality Points
1 Stanley Matthews Blackpool England 47
2 Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid Spain[a] 44
3 Raymond Kopa Reims
Real Madrid
France 33
4 Ferenc Puskás Budapest Honvéd Hungary 32
5 Lev Yashin Dynamo Moscow Soviet Union 19
6 József Bozsik Budapest Honvéd Hungary 15
7 Ernst Ocwirk Austria Wien
Sampdoria
Austria 9
8 Sándor Kocsis Budapest Honvéd Hungary 6
9 Thadée Cisowski RC Paris France 4
Ivan Kolev CDNA Sofia Bulgaria
Billy Wright Wolverhampton Wanderers England
12 Júlio Botelho Fiorentina Italy[b] 3
13 Stefan Bozhkov CDNA Sofia Bulgaria 2
Duncan Edwards Manchester United England
Gerhard Hanappi Rapid Wien Austria
Robert Jonquet Reims France
Miguel Montuori Fiorentina Italy
Pepillo Sevilla Spain
Juan Alberto Schiaffino Milan Italy
Eduard Streltsov Torpedo Moscow Soviet Union
21 Marcelino Campanal Sevilla Spain 1
Břetislav Dolejší Dukla Prague Czechoslovakia
Roger Piantoni FC Nancy France
Kees Rijvers Saint-Étienne Netherlands

Notes

  1. ^ Despite being born in Argentina, Alfredo Di Stéfano acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956, and would play for the Spain national team.[4]
  2. ^ Despite being born in Brazil, Júlio Botelho acquired Italian citizenship in 1956.

References

  1. ^ "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". RSSSF. 22 October 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  2. ^ Pierrend, José Luis (23 October 2008). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1956". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  3. ^ "50 Ans De Ballon D'Or" (in French). France Football. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Europe dazzled by Di Stéfano". UEFA. 22 November 2004. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2014.