Ballon d or 1999

The Ballon d'Or award is an annual football award for the best player from the previous year.

There was a time not too long ago when football's most prestigious individual award, the Ballon d'Or, was long debated and fiercely competitive. That was until when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo emerged as global wrecking balls on the opposing defences and formed a mesmeric charge of awards towards La Liga. The two superstars have created their own history and record books away from the norm where the greats of Marco van Basten, Kaka, Zinedine Zidane and co. Luka Modric has been the only man to dethrone the two great men, although Messi would reclaim the Ballon d'Or just 12 months later. Modric's win in did, however, mean that the claim for the best in the world stuck with a player within Spain, overlooking the greats of world football from outside of La Liga once more. Now, after 12 years of a Messi-Ronaldo dominance, with a sprinkle of Croatian, we take a look at what players have been overlooked down the years for this prestigious trophy, from Andres Iniesta and Virgil van Dijk, to Thierry Henry and Raul.

Ballon d or 1999

David Beckham was never just back-page news, he was front-page tabloid fodder. He could change his hairstyle and it would be everywhere; it helped he was pretty good at football too. Yet in the biggest moment in his career, the Champions League final, he was resigned to the role of side character. Cinema loves nothing more than a redemption arc, and in Beckham found himself as the protagonist of his own. It began with a kick, a flock of Argentinian blue shirts chirping around the ref, and a red card thrust into French night sky. With Manchester United, he lifted all three major trophies on offer to him and played a vital part in each. A peach of a goal, in which he effectively crossed the ball into the bottom left corner with a first-time strike that even had David Seaman flummoxed. So when Les Ferdinand lobbed Peter Schmeichel in the 24th minute, United needed a hero to stand up and rescue them. Ryan Giggs ran forward playing it into Paul Scholes as the Welshman ran beyond him. Would Scholes play him through? Would he pass to Dwight Yorke, who patiently stood in the box waiting for the ball to fall for him to put it away for the umpteenth time this season?

Bruno Fernandes' goal against Everton has been compared by many to Eric Cantona's vs Sunderland, ballon d or 1999, but the better comparison is surely David Beckham's wonderfully placed finish against Spurs in Iniesta would also bag a crucial goal against Chile, which saw Spain get out of Group H safely. Plus, whilst not directly contributing an assist to United's two final goals, his corners were the start of that something special.

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The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual accolade in the world of football. Ever since its inception in , the gong — conceived by France Football — has been a yardstick for the great and the good in the beautiful game. The favourites for the BDO remain constant in the modern age but over the course of nearly 70 years, there have been shock winners and intriguing entries on the list. And while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both top the chart for most triumphs of the golden ball, the complete catalogue of champions reads like a galaxy of the elite. At 41 years old, Sir Stan is still the oldest-ever winner of the award.

Ballon d or 1999

The Ballon d'Or award is an annual football award for the best player from the previous year. From until the award was open to all players from around the world, as long as they had been been active at European clubs during that year. Below are the nominees in the final order after voting for the award. The winner was Brazilian Rivaldo. Rivaldo was the second Brazilian to win the award after Ronaldo in See the list of all Ballon d'Or winners. Football some call it soccer is the world's most popular sport.

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Where are they now? There have been many legends of the game , particularly winners of the Ballon d'Or. Franck Ribery He was the army of elves arriving when all hoped looked lost at Helms Deep in Lord of the Rings or Aslan appearing on the horizon in Narnia when he was thought to be dead. He took one touch to bring it under his control before applying his trademarked magical curve to the ball. But Scholes had spotted him. What followed was chaos. Although, if we're going off individual performances, rather than team trophies won, the Frenchman perhaps deserved this one. Well not every sport, as there is a list of unusual sports , extinct sports and newly created sports. Premier League an hour ago. In truth, to say Messi didn't deserve this title is also a tough claim.

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Borussia Dortmund host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga with both teams battling for the European places. Spain's number six was also overlooked for the Golden Ball award in South Africa, with Diego Forlan controversially snatching that award. The midfielder went to shoot but feigned his shot. Manchester United David Beckham Nostalgia. Although, winning a Champions League title and being the standout player in a team that finished on 97 points in the Premier League could have easily beat Messi's claim; perhaps if it wasn't the great Barcelona star and somebody else netting those 51 goals that year, van Dijk would have snatched the award. Bruno Fernandes' goal against Everton has been compared by many to Eric Cantona's vs Sunderland, but the better comparison is surely David Beckham's wonderfully placed finish against Spurs in Within these individual feats, Messi helped Barcelona to another La Liga title and won the Best Player award in Spain's top-flight at the same time. That was until when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo emerged as global wrecking balls on the opposing defences and formed a mesmeric charge of awards towards La Liga. The Ballon d'Or award is an annual football award for the best player from the previous year. Where are they now? What followed was chaos. Luka Modric has been the only man to dethrone the two great men, although Messi would reclaim the Ballon d'Or just 12 months later. However, on the other hand, Thierry Henry's goal Premier League Golden Boot win, alongside his still-standing record of 20 assists was too easily overlooked. Yet in the biggest moment in his career, the Champions League final, he was resigned to the role of side character.