Ballon d'Or: 5 footballers from obscure nations who won the award
Following the completion of the Copa America and Euro 2020, all eyes are now on who will win the 2021 Ballon d'Or. The previous edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the resumption of football, the battle for the award has gotten more intense.
Since 2008, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the prestigious individual title. Luka Modric was the only exception in the last decade, but Jorginho and Robert Lewandowski have impressed in recent months, making them strong contenders to become this year's Ballon d'Or recipient.
Although the spotlight is frequently on countries such as Germany, Portugal and France to produce the next award winner, there have been a couple of players from obscure nations who won the Ballon d'Or too. In this article, we will be looking at five such players.
#5 Denis Law (Scotland)
In 1964, Denis Law became the first Manchester United player to win the Ballon d'Or, doing so before his fellow teammates, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best.
In the buildup to the award, Law scored an incredible 46 goals in a single season - a record that no United player has broken thus far. Sir Alex Ferguson has often spoken highly of his compatriot. At one point, the former Manchester United manager claimed:
“Quite simply, he was the finest player Scotland ever produced and one of the greatest the world has ever seen. He was my idol as a player. Lightning quick, fearless, dynamic, good with both feet, spectacular in the air, he was as near as, damn it, the perfect goalscoring individual."
After spending 11 years with the Red Devils, Law netted a total of 237 goals in 404 games across all competitions and is now the third-highest goalscorer of all time. Apart from his contributions at club level, Law is also the joint-top scorer for the Scotland national team with 30 goals alongside Sir Kenny Dalglish.
Being awarded the Ballon d'Or is among the many key moments of Law's career. Most importantly, he left a great legacy behind for both United and Scottish fans.
#4 Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
Not only is Hristo Stoichkov one of the greatest players to play for Barcelona, but he is also one of the best footballers from Bulgaria and in the world.
On top of receiving the Ballon d'Or in 1994, Stoichkov was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year six times, a recipient of the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot and four-time UEFA Super Cup winner with Barcelona.
Known for his pace and creativity, the 55-year-old usually played as a winger but has also been named as an attacking midfielder and a supporting striker. The late Johan Cruyff praised the Ballon d'Or winner by saying:
“I could talk about Stoichkov forever. He came to Barcelona because we needed him. He had speed, finishing and character. We had too many nice guys, we needed someone with mala leche.”
Since hanging up his boots, Stoichkov has gone on to manage a few teams but he appears to have been relatively less successful.