The seventeenth winner of the "Golden Ball" - Franz Beckenbauer

Seventhe tenth Ballon d'Or winner - Franz Beckenbauer

The first defender to be voted the best player of the year in Europe

After many years at the foot of the top three and constant wonderful performances, the defender of Bayern Munich and the West German national team Franz Beckenbauer received the award for the best footballer in Europe - "Golden Ball" in 1972. After the emphatic victory of Johan Cruyff a year earlier, the battle for the top position looks more than contested. Two more of Beckenbauer's team-mates from the national team that won Euro 1972 are included in it. Goalkeeper Gerd Müller and Borussia Mönchengladbach's impressive midfielder Günther Netzer raise the bar even further, but for the first time the award goes to a defender.

In 1972, the number of voters was one less, so the points awarded were one idea less, but this did not prevent Beckenbauer from collecting 81 of them. According to the results announced on December 26, a total of 21 journalists voted that the Bayern defender deserves to be in the top 5. Of them, 10 people put him in the first position, four in the second, one in the third and six in the fourth. Muller and Netzer received one more vote for the top five, but they remain 2 points short of the winner. The only previous winner of the prize from Bayern and West Germany has seven first places, four second places, six third places and five fourth places, which equates to 79 points. Still, most top positions leave Muller second. Netzer has just five first-place finishes, seven second-place finishes, six third-place finishes and four fourth-place finishes.

The previous year's winner Johan Cruyff remains in fourth position, but he is not too far from the top 3 either, as he collects 73 points. One of the three goalscorers in the KESH, however, he ended 1971 stronger than he started 1972 and although his Ajax defended their title in the most prestigious club competition on the Old Continent, he remained outside the top three.

There is also a Bulgarian in the lineup for 1972. This is CSKA's Hristo Bonev, who collects just 3 points with his one third place finish, but is still 11th in the standings alongside the likes of Gerry Muren, Murtaz Kurcilava and Paul Van Himst. Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Wlodzimierz Lubanski and Barry Hulshoff have just one point more than him.

The European title of West Germany played a major role in the first three positions being occupied by representatives of this country. Although only four participants, the battle for the best team on the Old Continent pits great teams against each other. West Germany beat Belgium 2:1 in the semi-finals after two goals from Gerd Müller, and in the final they defeated the Soviet Union 3:0. Müller scored twice more and Beckenbauer and the entire defending champions were simply incredible to stop the USSR's goalscoring efforts at the Hazel. The entire forward game is built around Müller, but its architect is Gunter Netzer.

At club level, Bayern battled for the Bundesliga title with Schalke 04 and managed to win it, conceding just 38 goals and just three defeats in 34 matches. Müller scored 40 goals in all competitions in which the Bavarians failed to win a second trophy. In the race for the cup, they were eliminated by Cologne in the quarter-finals after a nightmarish rematch, lost 1:5. In KES, Glasgow Rangers stops fans from watching the two strongest teams in the final - Ajax vs. Bayern Munich.

The battle for the Ballon d'Or in 1972 is one of the most contested in history. And we're not just talking about the difference between first and second place. We are talking about the fact that even the footballer who is not in the top 3 is only 8 points away from the first position. However, Franz Beckenbauer stands out above all with his unique style for a defender at the time. He is the captain, leader and most important player of the Bundesliga title holder as well as the team that lifted the European title – West Germany.