When did football's individual awards originate? Who was the first winner?

In international football, there are countless individual awards, and top stars such as Messi and Ronaldo have won awards and won soft hands. So, when did the awards originate? Who is the first player to win? In this article, we will answer the questions.

World Cup Ballon d'Or (1982)

The World Cup Ballon d'Or, symbolizing the best player of the World Cup, was first awarded in 1982, a full 52 years after the World Cup was created. In this World Cup, the player who won the Ballon d'Or was Italian Paolo Rossi. In each competition, the three best performers will be selected and won the Golden Ball, Silver Ball and Bronze Ball Awards. Germany international Kahn, who won the World Cup Ballon d'Or in 2002, was the only goalkeeper to be elected, and Messi, who was elected twice in 2014 and 2022, is the only player to win the World Cup Ballon d'Or twice. In addition, Maradona, Modric, Ronaldo and other stars have also won this award.

Premier League Player of the Year (1994–95)

The name of the Premier League's best player changes as sponsors change, so the league was founded without a strictly best player award. In the 1994–95 season, Alan Shearer, then playing for Blackburn, became the first Premier League Player of the Year winner. In 2006-07 and 2007-08, Ronaldo was elected to this distinction twice in a row.

PFA Player of the Year (1973-74)

The PFA Player of the Year is voted on by members of the English Players' Union and the Professional Footballers' Association and is awarded to English Football's Player of the Year. The award began in the 1973–74 season, with the first winner being Norman Hunt, who played for Leeds United. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale, Henry and others have won this award twice, and the most recent winner is Salah who plays for Liverpool.

FWA Player of the Season (1947–48)

The first Player of the Year award in the English Home League, voted by the English Football Journalists' Association, Stanley Matthews was the first player to win the award.

German Footballer of the Year (1960)

The German Footballer of the Year selection has been awarded since 1960 to players who play in Germany. Since 1996, the award has included the selection of female footballers, Miss German football. The first player to win German Footballer of the Year was Uwe Schiller, who played for Hamburg at the time, and he won the award three times; In 2020 and 2021, Lewandowski was elected twice, and the most recent winner was Nkunku of Leipzig.

French Footballer of the Year (1959)

French Footballer of the Year originated in 1959 and was selected by the famous "France Football" magazine, and the first winner was Angers player Jules Smronha. Prior to 1996, the award was only given to local French players in the French league, after which French players who played overseas could also be awarded. Zidane, Benzema, Mbappe and others have won this award many times.

Serie A Footballer of the Year (1997)

Serie A Footballer of the Year and Italian Footballer of the Year have been selected since 1997, but the latter, known as the "Oscars of Italian football", was discontinued in 2010. Serie A Footballer of the Year recognises the best players in Serie A, with the first winner being Roberto Mancini, Pirlo winning for three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014, and AC Milan striker Rafael Leo.

Golden Globe Award (1956)

The Ballon d'Or was founded in 1956 by the magazine "France Football" owned by the French newspaper La Sco, and the first player to win was Blackpool's English player Matthews. Prior to 1994, the Ballon d'Or was awarded only to players with European nationality, then relaxed to players who played in the European League, and in 2007 it was extended to the world. In 2010, the Ballon d'Or merged with FIFA's World Footballer of the Year, but the partnership ended in 2016 and the Ballon d'Or continued to be selected by French Football magazine.

World Footballer of the Year/Miss (1991/2001)

FIFA World Footballer of the Year, founded in 1991, was selected by the national team coaches, captains and FIFA media representatives, with Mateus as the first winner, Papin and Lineker in second and third respectively. Since 2001, FIFA has added the award selection of the women's category, that is, Miss World Football, the first female football player to win the award is Miaham of the United States, and the legendary Chinese women's football player Sun Wen won the second place in the selection. In 2010, the awards merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or, and after the two sides split up, FIFA began to re-evaluate the awards independently.

Copa America Player of the Year (1916)

The best player of the America's Cup is the world's oldest individual award for major competitions. In 1916, with the first Copa America, Uruguayan Gladin became the first player to be named the best player in the Copa America, and he was also the top scorer of this tournament. In 2021, after Argentina won their most recent Copa America to date, Messi became the tournament's best player, a distinction he also won in 2015. In addition, Suarez, Alexis Sanchez, Ronaldo and other well-known players have all been winners of the best player in the Copa America.

Best European Player Award (1998)

The European Player of the Year award recognises the best players who play for European clubs, and its predecessor is the UEFA Club Player of the Year award in 1998, this year the winner is Ronaldo the "Alien" Ronaldo, the second winner is David Beckham. In 2011, Messi became the first UEFA Player of the Year after the restructuring, after which Andres Iniesta, Ribery and Cristiano Ronaldo were elected respectively. The winner of 2022 is Benzema who defeated De Bruyne by a landslide.

Asian Footballer of the Year (1984)

Presented to the best performing Asian footballer, the Asian Footballer of the Year was created in 1984 and the first winner was Saudi Arabia's Majid. In 2001, Fan Zhiyi, who was playing for Dundee FC in Scotland, became the first Chinese player to win the award; In 2013, Zheng Zhi, who helped Guangzhou Evergrande win the AFC Champions League, became the second Chinese player to be named Asian Footballer of the Year. Not long ago, Kaoru Mito, who played well at Brighton, became the Asian Footballer of the Year in 2022, and at the World Cup in Qatar, he played quite well.

China Golden Globe Awards (2017)

Chinese players also have their own awards, which is the China Golden Ball Awards, which were first selected in 2017 by sports media. The selection of the China Golden Globe Awards is divided into China Golden Globe Award, China Women's Golden Ball Award, China Golden Boy Award and other awards, as well as futsal, e-sports and other fields. In 2017, Feng Xiaoting won the first Chinese Golden Globe Award, Wang Shuang was elected to the Chinese Women's Golden Globe Award, and the first Chinese Golden Shuai Award was won by Xu Genbao.

(Supine Push-ups/Yin Chongzeng)