The twenty-first winner of the "Golden Ball" - Franz Beckenbauer

Twenty firstthey eat Ballon d'Or winner - Franz Beckenbauer

The consistently high level and the new European title bring the Bayern defender a second major individual award

After his constant presence at the foot of the big three in the Ballon d'Or poll, given to the best football player in Europe, Franz Beckenbauer won the award in 1972. But that's not all. The central defender raised the position to new heights and in the next three years he finished second in the ranking, and in 1976 he won the prize again, with a considerable lead over second-placed Rob Renzenbrink.

On December 28, 1976, Beckenbauer was announced as the winner of the vote, in which 26 journalists from the countries that are members of the European Football Headquarters participated. The defender collects 91 points, after being the best for 14 people, three leave him in second place, two - in third place, and one of the voters considers him fourth and fifth. Yes, according to one person more, or 22, who have the right to vote, the Dutchman Rensenbrink has a place in the top 5, but only six consider him the classiest. The Anderlecht forward has also had a strong year, but has collected 75 points. Third in the ranking remains Ivo Viktor from Czechoslovakia, who is the European champion and with his performances in the goal of Dukla Prague and the national team, he became the third goalkeeper in the top 3 in the Ballon d'Or poll.    

The top five is completed by Liverpool's Kevin Keegan, who has just 32 points, as well as young French talent Michel Platini, who even gets one first-place vote after a remarkable campaign with the lowly Nancy side. Johan Cruyff, who has won the award in 3 of the last 5 years, is only seventh, and the interim winner of the "Golden Ball" Oleg Blokhin collects only 3 points, with which he is nineteenth.

It is unnecessary to talk about Beckenbauer's inimitable style, so it is better to focus on the successes of his club team. Franz is an absolute machine, and Bayern Munich set foot on the European summit for the third time in a row, equaling Ajax's achievement and once again there is talk that Real Madrid's record of five consecutive FA Cup titles could be under threat. The Bavarian giants have handled the likes of Benfica and Real with ease, allowing just 1 goal each from two of the best attacks in Europe. The final, played at "Hampden Park" in Glasgow, was also won with a dry net - 1:0 over the French Saint Etienne. But the successes at the club level are so much, after Bayern remains only third in the Bundesliga, where the title belongs to Borussia Mönchengladbach, and in the race for the country's cup, it is eliminated in the semi-finals.

At the European Football Championship, West Germany reached the finals for the second time in a row. But unlike its triumph in 1972, it is now losing to Czechoslovakia on penalties. However, the performance of Beckenbauer in this championship deserves attention as he is the only one of the defensive formation of the Germans who does his job successfully. At the Old Continent Championship, Czech keeper Ivo Viktor shined as he saved a decisive Uli Hoenes penalty as Czechoslovakia claimed their first and only major title in history.

As for the second in the ranking Rob Renzenbrink, he is part of the most famous season in the history of the Belgian Anderlecht. The Dutchman even scored twice in the Cup Winners' Cup final in a 4-2 win over West Ham United.

However, above all is Beckenbauer, who continues to be the only defender with the "Golden Ball", and after winning the award for the second time, remains in history as the only defender with two such awards. The inimitable leader of Bayern is at the heart of three consecutive European crowns, and without competition in his position.