After a month-long, grueling tournament like the World Cup, there’s a lot of things to assess and analyze. After all the goals are scored and the matches are decided, the Golden Ball Award goes to best player of the tournament.
The Golden Ball award goes to the World Cup’s best player. Who will win in Russia?
FIFA’s technical committee names a shortlist of contenders. Then selected media representatives vote.
Photo by Miguel Villagran/Getty Images for adidas
During the course of the tournament, a shortlist of top-performing players is drawn up by FIFA’s technical committee. After the final, selected media representatives vote to select the winner, with the second- and third-place vote-getters receiving the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball, respectively.
From the inaugural World Cup in 1930 until 1982, the recognition was simply known as the “Best Player Award.” It then took on its current name and became sponsored by Adidas and the magazine France Football, which also sponsors the Ballon d’Or given annually to Europe’s top player. Uruguayan defender Jose Nasazzi was the first winner of the original incarnation of the award after he captained his country to a win in the first-ever World Cup. In the decades since, he’s been joined in history by such names as Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and, most recently, Lionel Messi.
While the Golden Boot Award simply goes to the most numerically prodigious goalscorer in the tournament, the Golden Ball tends to go to all-around great performers. Only three players have taken home both prizes from a World Cup. Golden Ball winners tend to be leaders in their team who helped in more ways than just scoring goals, who created huge moments that led to big wins, who helped change the course of the tournament while they were on the pitch.
It takes a special player to win the Golden Ball, and that exclusive, elite club is likely going to get a new member this year.
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