The sixteenth winner of the "Golden Ball" - Johan Cruyff

Sixthe tenth Ballon d'Or winner - Johan Cruyff

First award for the best footballer in Europe for the "Flying Dutchman"

The Ballon d'Or award for the best European football player in 1971 was awarded to Johan Cruyff. The attacking midfielder from Ajax became the first Dutch footballer to win the most prestigious individual award in world football, as well as the record holder for points won. Cruyff collects 116 points from the 26 journalists who have the right to vote from the countries that are members of the European football headquarters - UEFA. His points are more than double that of the second-placed Alessandro Mazzola of Italy, who has just 57. Third is George Best, who won the honor 3 years earlier.

Practically everyone, except the Dutch representative, who has no right, put Cruyff in the top 5. Of the 25, 19 people are of the opinion that he is number one for the current year, five leave him in second position and one in fifth place. According to only three of the journalists, Mazzola deserves the first place for his performance with the Inter team, while Best, who has only one point less than the Italian, is only one first place in the ranking. Two Germans fall into the top five. They are Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Gunther Netzer, who is fourth, and Bayern Munich defender Franz Beckenbauer. Previous prize winner Gerd Müller remains sixth with 18 points, the same as Josip Skoblar of Yugoslavia. There were no Bulgarians in the Golden Ball ranking in 1971.

The question is what makes Johan Cruyff so special. The "Flying Dutchman", as many of his fans call him, is simply phenomenal. For years now, the attacking footballer has been the leader of an exceptional Ajax team, which is raising the level of the local championship enormously, and in Europe he has demonstrated that he can soon reach the top. Cruyff is more than an inspirational footballer for Amsterdammers, and his first best year of his career was precisely 1971. Yes, Ajax concede the championship title to Feyenoord, and that too by 4 points behind the new champions, but far more important is the title won before that. The reason is that the team inspired by Cruyff's technical skills is competing in the European Champions Cup tournament. A race where they got off to a flying start and saw off Albania's Nentori, Switzerland's Basel as well as Scotland's Celtic to reach the semi-finals. The first goal for the elimination of the "Celts" was the work of Cruyff, who managed to score in the 63rd minute, breaking the great defense of the Scots, who came to 0:0 in Amstedam. Along with Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Red Star and Panathinaikos are impressing in the competition. Fate decided that the Amsterdam team would meet the Spanish team and lose at the Estadio Manzanares with 0:1, but in the Dutch capital, Cruyff's team won 3:0 and reached the final. There he faces Panathinaikos, who have the competition's top scorer Antonis Antoniadis in their ranks, but he is suspended as Cruyff, Neeskens and company play simply phenomenally to win their first European title.

But not all ends at the end of the 1970/71 season. At the start of the next season, Cruyff looked even more inspired and managed to build up an even greater lead over his competitors for the Ballon d'Or. Even the best footballer in the Italian Calcio and who continues to accumulate incredible feats in the English Championship does not seem worthy of being placed next to the great Dutchman. One of Cruyff's most impressive moments came on October 20, when he scored the win away to Olympique Marseille in the second round of the UEFA Champions League. Then he bursts out of his own half, running a surprisingly large distance in an extremely short time, feints an opponent and scores. In the second match, Ajax again found themselves catching up in the result, but the conductor waved his baton and after his goal the score was equalized, and a little later the European champions achieved a turnaround. Cruyff scored once more before Ari Khan made it 4-1.

Johan Cruyff is not only the first Dutchman with the Ballon d'Or, not only the most convincing winner in the ranking, but also a magical player who only continues to raise his level. His first most prestigious individual award is just the beginning of a career that hasn't even reached its peak.

.