The second Ballon d'Or winner

The second Ballon d'Or winner

Alfredo Di Stefano was unopposed for the prize in 1957

In 1957, the second Golden Ball in history was awarded. The award is once again for the best player in Europe and its winner is voted for by selected sports journalists from the member countries of the European football headquarters - UEFA.

After finishing second to Stanley Matthews the previous year, Alfredo Di Stefano was uncontested in 1957. The Real Madrid and Spain international again reached Europe's greatest pinnacle at club level, winning the European Champions Cup for the second season in a row, and in addition to that he also won the LaLiga title in the 1956/57 season with his club.

Di Stefano is the basis of both triumphs. The Argentina-born striker scored 31 goals in the Spanish league, earning him the top scorer award. He scored one of the two goals for Los Blancos in the 2-0 CASH final against Fiorentina. In addition, he does not fail to register in every single phase of the race. His goal in the rematch with Rapid Vienna is especially key. The Austrians lead 3:0 until the break after Ernst Happel's hat trick, but just before the hour mark, Di Stefano made it 3:1. After the 4:2 success in the first match, Real Madrid reached the play-off against the champion of Austria, which was logically won by the "whites".

Di Stefano is first in the Ballon d'Or standings with 72 points, far behind Wolverhampton Wanderers' Billy Wright. The Englishman collects only 19 points or 53 less than the winner. Twelve of the 16 voters put Di Stefano in first place, and another three left him second. The representative of Spain does not have the right to vote for the player from his country.

The third position in the ranking is shared between another Englishman - Manchester United player Duncan Edwards and Di Stefano's teammate Raymond Coppa, who collect 16 points each. Barcelona's László Kubala completes the five.

Unlike in 1956, there is not a single Bulgarian who is among the first 20 in the ranking and has a point from the sports journalists in Europe. The other difference is that the football player occupying the first position is by a large margin ahead of the others.

A year after the Ballon d'Or surprisingly eluded Alfredo Di Stefano and he finished just 3 points short of winner Stanley Matthews, it's time for revenge from Real Madrid's top scorer.