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

Twenty ninethe winner of the "Golden Ball" - Michel Platini   

Second consecutive triumph for the French star of Juventus

After winning the Ballon d'Or in 1983, Michel Platini grabbed a second and even more deserved award for the best European football player. This happens on Christmas Day, December 25, 1984. The top scorer of the European finals, winner of the title with France, top scorer of Juventus and winner of two trophies with the "Bianconeri" team is the undisputed number one, perhaps in the whole world.

Platini collected 128 points, or 18 more than the previous year. Twenty-four people out of the 26 voters put him in the first position, and only two put him in second. So he collects only 2 points less than the maximum. He is followed by his teammate in the Roosters selection and Bordeaux midfielder Jean Tigana, who has 57 points. The trio is completed by the Dane Preben Elkjaer-Larsen, who collects 48.

A curious fact about the "Golden Ball" in 1984 is that the representative of the European club champion Liverpool Ian Rush was only fourth, and among all those who received at least one point there is only one Spaniard. "La Furia Roja" reaches the final of the European Championship, but the individual achievements of the players from the national team are clearly nothing special and only Antonio Maceda from Sporting Gijon takes one point. The Bulgarians in the "Golden Ball" lineup in 1984 are missing.

The incredible performance for Michel Platini begins at Juventus. He managed to improve his performance from the previous season, as spring was again stronger for the Frenchman, both in Serie A and in European tournaments. At the club level, he led the "Bianconeri" to the Calcio title with 20 goals, which made him the top scorer in the championship. Platini scored many important goals against Napoli, Lazio, AC Milan, city rivals Torino, a winning goal against Inter that won the title for Juventus, and was a major contributor to a number of successes in Serie A, though not just through goals.

In European club tournaments, Juve represent Italy in the Cup Winners' Cup (CUP). The Italians won, beating Porto 2-1 in the final, with Paolo Rossi, Beniamino Vignola and Zbigniew Boniec contributing more significantly to that triumph, but Platini was also key to the team's performance, even if he didn't contribute with his goals. .

A strong start to next season is also of great importance for the French attacking player's prize. He continues to shine in the important matches, although Juve is taking a step back in his performance. The reason is the focus on performance in Europe and in particular the UEFA Champions League, where the Bianconeri have serious rivals, but Platini helps them overcome them with ease and by the end of 1984 he already has 3 goals in the tournament.

What largely carries Platini's prestigious individual award is his performance at the European Championships. The finals of the competition are in his native France and it is the "roosters" who triumph with the first significant distinction in their history. The goal scorer of the competition was precisely Michel Platini, who scored a record 9 goals to this day, with which he was in first place among the scorers of European championships until Euro 2020, when Cristiano Ronaldo managed to overtake him. Michel shines in goals in every single game, scoring 3 each against the strong selections of Belgium and Yugoslavia. In the semi-finals, he brought the victory over Portugal after extra time, and in the final he scored in the 57th minute for 1:0 against Spain. The match ended 2:0, and Platini was also chosen as the player of the championship.

After an even stronger 1984 and after improving all individual records at the European Championship, Michel Platini received the second Ballon d'Or of his career.