Traditional award given to the best player of the year since 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been won by more than four dozen footballers.
Many of them, very famous, cases of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldo Fenômeno, Ronaldinho, Di Stéfano, Eusébio, Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Platini.
Others, not so much. The case of striker Igor Belanov, who won the trophy in 1986, when he played for Dynamo Kiev and the Soviet Union national team.
How did Belanov win the Ballon d’Or in 1986, when Diego Maradona shone for Argentina at the World Cup in Mexico?
The reason is that, at the time, only European players, who played for clubs in Europe, could win the prize. The rule only changed in 1995.
Belanov scored four goals in the second Mexican World Cup and was the highlight of the USSR in that tournament, in which his team fell in the round of 16 (4-3 to Belgium, with three goals from him).
Also in 1986, Dynamo Kiev won the Recopa, then the second most important tournament in Europe.
Now 61, Belanov, who stopped playing 25 years ago, is now back in the news.
Born in Odessa, Ukraine, he joined the country’s Armed Forces to participate in the war against Russia, which has been going on since February 24.
On social media, Belanov, who has been a member of the Ukrainian Football Association since 2018, published some images of him and his fellow soldiers, accompanied by the following text:
“Incredible courage and inexhaustible fighting spirit. All this and much more characterize our Armed Forces fighters. Peace for Ukraine and glory to all those who oppose the occupiers who blatantly came to destroy our land and our free and heroic people. We believe in victory. Glory to Ukraine!”
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has resulted in 1,793 Ukrainian civilian deaths by the end of last week, including 142 children.
The war is on its 48th day.
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
