Croatia captain and Real Madrid star Luka Modric will head to Qatar looking to become the first winner of the Golden Ball to retain the award first handed out at the 1982 World Cup.
Fifa have officially recognised the best player at each of the past 10 tournaments, but none have yet retained the title. There has also not yet been a repeat winner of the Golden Ball. While only Argentina, Brazil and Italy can boast having two separate recipients of the gong.
The Fifa technical committee determine which players are qualified to win the Golden Ball at each World Cup. A vote among representatives of the media then determines who takes the award, as well as the Silver and Bronze Balls for the second and third-best performers.
An array of big-name stars have swept the second and third-place prizes for their efforts at the past 10 tournaments. Lothar Matthaus was the runner-up at Italia 90, Fabio Cannavaro finished second in the rankings for Germany 2006 and Thomas Muller was second in 2014.
Lilian Thuram, on the other hand, took the bronze medal for his home World Cup at France 1998. Andrea Pirlo followed his compatriot Cannavaro in 2006 at the tournament that Italy won their fourth title. While David Villa was a hero as Spain won in 2010, yet finished third.
In fact, only during 1982, 1986 and 1994 has the Golden Ball award winner come from the country that also won that year’s World Cup. The runner-up nation boasted the best stars at the 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2018 editions, along with the third-place team in 1990.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa even saw the Golden Ball award winner emerge from the country who finished fourth. So with that in mind, who are the seven players who have won the Golden Ball award across the last 10 World Cups ahead of the 2022 Qatar edition?
Paolo Rossi became first Golden Ball winner as Italy took 1982 World Cup title
Fifa awarded the first Golden Ball to Paolo Rossi at Spain 1982 after the striker helped Italy win their third of four World Cups so far. The Prato-born attacker lit up the competition to end the summer as the top-scorer with six goals through his seven appearances that year.
Rossi did not score his first goal until the final tie of the second group stage. Yet it was the spark for a match-winning hat-trick to beat Brazil 3-2, having twice been pegged back. He would then find the net twice to beat Poland 2-0 in the semi, before beating Germany 3-1.
Diego Maradona swept Golden Ball and World Cup glory with Argentina in 1986
Diego Maradona helped inspire Argentina to their second World Cup title during the 1986 tournament in Mexico. The competition was the iconic playmaker’s second of four that he would play, and also marked the first in which he wore La Albiceleste’s captains’ armband.
The Lanus-born creator more than lived up to the responsibilities of leading a nation at the World Cup. He found the net five times and laid on another five assists across seven games – playing every minute – including creating a late winner to beat Germany 3-2 in the final.
Italy became first nation with two Golden Ball winners through Salvatore Schillaci
Italy became the first nation to boast two Golden Ball winners in 1990 as Salvatore Schillaci produced an outstanding World Cup on home soil. But the Azzurri could only finish in third as Germany beat Argentina in the final, to seal their third of a total of four crowns to date.
Schillaci swept personal honours, though, with six goals to merit the Golden Boot and Ball. The centre-forward – playing at the only World Cup of his career – found the net in all but one tie. He also assisted once alongside scoring to beat England in the third-place play-off.
Romario became first Brazilian Golden Ball winner at 1994 World Cup
Brazil are the record five-time World Cup winners, but did not see one of their players get the Golden Ball until Romario in 1994. The centre-forward beat Roberto Baggio and Hristo Stoichkov – the joint-top goalscorer (6) with Oleg Salenko – for the top individual honour.
Romario emerged as the best player in the United States after playing a key role in Brazil winning a fourth World Cup. The 71-cap attacker from Rio de Janeiro won his only World Cup title with five goals and three assists in seven appearances and playing every minute.
His efforts directly contributed to the Selecao beating Russia and Cameroon while drawing with Sweden in the group stage. Romario’s assist also decided their last 16 tie with the US, before scoring decisive goals in the quarter-final against Holland and semi against Sweden.
Ronaldo returned back-to-back awards to Brazil with 1998 honour
Ronaldo Nazario returned back-to-back Golden Balls to Brazil after sweeping the individual honour in 1998. The Selecao would fail to defend their crown after losing to France – first-time champions, whilst playing on home soil – in the final, but the forward put on a show.
The Rio de Janeiro native put behind him sitting on the bench during each game at the ‘94 World Cup to play every second in 1998. Ronaldo also scored four goals and laid on three assists over his seven games. But he crucially failed to create any against France in Paris.
Germany icon Oliver Kahn won nation’s first gong in 2002
Germany did not have a Golden Ball winner until Oliver Kahn in 2002, after a sublime show at the South Korea and Japan World Cup. He also denied Ronaldo successive titles with the Brazil star finishing second in the rankings, ahead of South Korea legend Hong Myung-bo.
Additionally, Kahn was the first goalkeeper to clinch the Golden Ball, having captained Die Mannschaft into the final with five clean sheets. Only the Republic of Ireland had managed to beat the eight-time Bundesliga champion, before Brazil struck twice to win the final 2-0.
Zinedine Zidane won 2006 Golden Ball despite controversial end to World Cup
Zinedine Zidane won the Golden Ball at the 2006 Germany World Cup, despite the France icon causing a controversial end to his tournament. The Marseille-born star captained Les Bleus throughout the tournament, but saw red in the final before Italy won on penalties.
Goals and bookings were never far from Zidane as he missed the final group stage match after two yellow cards. But he marked his return in the knockout stages with a goal and an assist against Spain, created to beat Brazil 1-0 and then scored to eliminate Portugal 1-0.
Another goal followed for Zidane just seven minutes into the final when he flashed home a penalty. Yet Marco Materazzi would soon equalise, and was later on the receiving end of a headbutt from Zidane in extra-time that saw referee Horacio Elizondo reach for a red card.
Diego Forlan the only Golden Ball winner to finish outside of World Cup top-three
Diego Forlan became the first, and still only, recipient of the Golden Ball to have played for a country who finished outside the top three at a World Cup. His Uruguay side made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2010, but then lost to the Netherlands and then again to Germany.
The centre-forward more than merited the Golden Ball, though, after he ended the World Cup as one of four players with five goals to share the Golden Boot. Three of Forlan’s haul also came from shots taken from outside the box – including the Goal of the Tournament.
Lionel Messi led Argentina to second at 2014 World Cup for the Golden Ball
Lionel Messi carried Argentina on his back to second place at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to merit the Golden Ball. The iconic forward had the weight of a nation on his shoulders in every game, but he managed to drag out results that La Albiceleste arguably did not merit.
Argentina may not have even got out of Group F if it were not for Messi. He scored to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1, Iran 1-0 and a brace to beat Nigeria 3-2. The 35-year-old then laid on an assist to beat Switzerland 1-0 in the last 16, whilst captaining them into the final.
Luka Modric won Golden Ball as Croatia finished second in 2018
Modric won the most recent Golden Ball after he led Croatia to the final at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Real Madrid midfielder will captain his nation in Qatar later in the year, knowing that at 37 years old it will very likely be his last chance to win the Fifa tournament.
The 152-cap Vatreni skipper started in all seven of Croatia’s fixtures in Russia – only taking time out over the final half an hour of their last group stage tie. He also scored once to win Group D ties with Nigeria and Argentina, whilst assisting against Russia in the quarter-final.
France would beat Croatia 4-2 come the final, but Modric left the 2018 World Cup with the Golden Ball award. He could now become the first two-time recipient with another strong string of showcase performances come the 22nd edition of the Fifa tournament in Qatar.
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