The thirty-fifth winner of the "Golden Ball" - Lothar Mateus

Thirty pisthe winner of the "Golden Ball" - Lothar Matheus   

The German footballer of Inter stopped the Dutch dominance in the 1990s

The end of another strong era of Dutch footballers in the Ballon d'Or ranking ends with the triumph of Lothar Mattheus in 1990. On top of Christmas, the Germany player won the award for the best European footballer. Italy's World Indoor title proved to be the main reason Mateus amassed a solid haul of 137 points, leaving Italy's Salvatore Schillaci of Juventus and compatriot and Inter team-mate Andreas Bremme behind.

At a time when the Italian championship is the strongest league in Europe, it is no surprise that three Serie A players once again take the top three positions, but more important for their ranking is the Bottas World Cup. Mateus managed to impress 28 of the 29 voting journalists, representatives of the countries that are members of the European football headquarters - UEFA. Twenty-five of them believe that the midfielder of the "Bundesteam" deserves the first position, and three leave him in second place. Salvatore Squillaci collects 84 points from his two first, twelve second, five third, four fourth and three fifth places. Twenty-three of those entitled to vote voted for Andreas Breme. The Inter player also has two first places, but only six second places, which make up the 16-point gap with second place. Still, both are way ahead of Paul Gascoigne. The English striker of Tottenham remains outside the top three with 43 points. The top five is completed by the second from 1989 Franco Baresi from Milan.

The winner of the previous two years, Marco van Basten, has no points at all, and the only Dutchman is Frank Rijkaard, who remains ninth with just 7 points. There are no Bulgarians in the Golden Ball ranking in 1990.

In a not particularly impressive season for Inter, Lothar Mateus stands out. Operating in the position of a sweeper, which in modern football does not exist, the German footballer is one of the highest scoring players with a defensive nature. His team finished third behind Napoli and AC Milan, missed out on top spots in the Serie A and Coppa Italia, but bid for a strong start to the 1990/91 season, which was heavily influenced by the presence of a world champion in each line. on the field. Andreas Bremme in defense and Jurgen Klinsmann in attack complete the "German" Inter. However, the most significant of them turns out to be Lothar Matheus.

Whether because of the matches in the Italian Calcio or because of his undeniable qualities, he turns out to be one of the main reasons for the Germans' third world title. Already in the group stage, Mateus shone for West Germany in the opening match, won 4:1 against Yugoslavia. The midfielder scored two of the goals for the win. Another goal followed in the goal of the United Arab Emirates, outplayed by 5:1. Although the third meeting with Colombia ended in a draw, the Germans showed that they can handle anyone and in the round of 16 one of the favorites – the Netherlands – was eliminated. Breme and Klinsmann scored for West Germany, while a strong performance from Mathews prevented the Tulips' incredible forwards from getting more than a respectable goal late on, Ronald Koeman's penalty. It was with a goal from the penalty spot that the Inter player brought success over Czechoslovakia in the quarter-final stage. West Germany face England in the semi-finals. The extremely even match was decided by penalties, in which Matheus and the third-ranked Andreas Bremme, who opened the score for "Dele Alpi" in the 60th minute, were accurate, and the Germans won 4:3 with the kicks from the 11 meters . In the final, Bremen shone again, lifting the world title with an 85th-minute penalty goal, Maradona being neutralized by West Germany's superb defence. Argentina failed to defend their world title, and Lothar Matheus is one of the reasons for that.

1990 Ballon d'Or runner-up Salvatore Squillaci became the tournament's top scorer with six goals to help Italy to the bronze medals, while Andreas Bremme also produced fantastic performances and was among the unexpectedly good goalscorers who obliterated a good German attack. Together with Jürgen Klinsmann and Rudy Föhler, who lead the attack of the world champions, they have three goals each, and Lothar Matthaus is the top scorer of West Germany with four goals.

The reasons for another defensive footballer to win the prize for the best European player in 1990 are not few, and the effectiveness of a defensive midfielder or sweeper at that time is an unexpectedly good bonus to Mateus' game.