The twenty-eighth winner of the "Golden Ball" - Michel Platini

Twenty axismy Ballon d'Or winner - Michel Platini

The first individual recognition of the French talent came in 1983

After extremely strong years and frequent presence in the Golden Ball ranking, Michel Platini occupied the first position in 1983. The prize for the best player in Europe goes to Juventus' French attacking player, who leaves Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish by a considerable margin.

Platini collected 110 points from the votes of 26 journalists, representatives of countries that are members of the European football headquarters - UEFA. Of them, 23 put him in the top 5. According to 18 of those entitled to vote, Platini deserves the award, and the other five leave him second. Liverpool's Scottish striker Kenny Dalglish remains second in the table with just 26 points, a spectacular difference. The dispute for the position in the top three was won by the winner of the award in 1977, Alan Simonsen, who entered the top three as part of a third different team - the Danish Veille. Simonsen is just a point behind Dalglish on 25. Aberdeen star Gordon Strahan is also just a point off third. The second Scot in the top four has an asset of 24 points. The top five is completed by Felix Magat, who collects 20 points.

The executor of the European champion Liverpool Stoicho Mladenov is also included in the ranking. The CSKA Sofia player has just one point and shares the final 33rd position with three other competitors, one of whom is Werder Bremen's young talent Rudy Föhler. With his two goals in the return match against Liverpool, Mladenov enters the European scene and this is the reason why he entered the Golden Ball ranking.

The winner of this ranking turns out to be the man who transformed Juventus upon his arrival in the summer of 1982. The Bianconeri did not start the season in Serie A particularly confidently, but finished second, 4 points behind Roma and 1 ahead of Inter. The top scorer in the championship is precisely Michel Platini, who has scored 16 times in Calcio. Defensive football in the Italian league is why Platini also became the league's top scorer, ahead of Inter's Alessandro Altobelli and Verona's Domenico Penzo, who have just one goal less each.

In the cup tournament, where Juve's only triumph comes, Platini is also very key. The Frenchman scored twice in Bari at the start of 1983, and the modest team from the city of the same name proved a very tough challenge at the Old Lady and were beaten 1-2 on aggregate, coming within seconds of reaching the extra time, but Platini earns Juve the tie and the ranking. The Frenchman also scored against Roma in the quarter-final clash, and in the final he became the main reason for the triumph with the cup. After a 2-0 defeat away to Verona at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, Juventus must pull off an incredible turnaround. An early goal from Paolo Rossi, the former Ballon d'Or winner, gave the Black and Whites hope, but it wasn't until the 81st minute that Platini scored his first goal and sent the match into extra time. There, the Frenchman is accurate again seconds before the penalties and the cup is for Juve.

The Italians are also defending the honor of Italy in the tournament for the European Champions Cup. After not particularly difficult matches in the autumn, Juve met Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, but won in England with 2:1, and in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Platini scored two goals for the final 3:1, with which " the bianconeri” are in the next phase. In the semifinals, the Frenchman killed Widzew Lodz's hopes for a sensation, scoring for 2:2 in the second leg. It comes just a minute after the hosts took the lead for the first time in the match and saw an opportunity to pull off an unexpected turnaround. However, the final was lost to the German Hamburger, another big disappointment in Juve's rich history.

However, Michel Platini continues with his good performance, both in the club and in the national team. As part of a team playing in Serie A, he reached a personal European peak and demonstrated that he can be a key figure with major credit and a leadership role. After the third place in 1980 and the constant retention at the head of the ranking, Platini finally managed to grab his first Ballon d'Or in 1983.

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