1956 Ballon d'Or

The 1956 Ballon d'Or was the inaugural Ballon d'Or award given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries.^[1] Stanley Matthews received the award on 18 December 1956.^[2][3]

1956 Ballon d'Or
1956 Ballon d'Or winner Stanley Matthews in 1962
Date	18 December 1956
Location	Paris, France
Presented by	France Football
Highlights
Won by	Stanley Matthews (1st award)
Website	francefootball.fr/ballon-d-or
← Established · Ballon d'Or · 1957 →

Rankings

Rank	Name	Club(s)	Nationality	Points
1	Stanley Matthews	Blackpool	England	47
2	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid	Spain[lower-alpha 1]	44
3	Raymond Kopa	Reims Real Madrid	France	33
4	Ferenc Puskás	Budapest Honvéd	Hungary	32
5	Lev Yashin	Dynamo Moscow	Soviet Union	19
6	József Bozsik	Budapest Honvéd	Hungary	15
7	Ernst Ocwirk	Austria Wien Sampdoria	Austria	9
8	Sándor Kocsis	Budapest Honvéd	Hungary	6
9	Thadée Cisowski	RC Paris	France	4
	Ivan Kolev	CDNA Sofia	Bulgaria
	Billy Wright	Wolverhampton Wanderers	England
12	Júlio Botelho	Fiorentina	Italy[lower-alpha 2]	3
13	Stefan Bozhkov	CDNA Sofia	Bulgaria	2
	Duncan Edwards	Manchester United	England
	Gerhard Hanappi	Rapid Wien	Austria
	Robert Jonquet	Reims	France
	Miguel Montuori	Fiorentina	Italy
	Pepillo	Sevilla	Spain
	Juan Alberto Schiaffino	Milan	Italy
	Eduard Streltsov	Torpedo Moscow	Soviet Union
21	Marcelino Campanal	Sevilla	Spain	1
	Břetislav Dolejší	Dukla Prague	Czechoslovakia
	Roger Piantoni	FC Nancy	France
	Kees Rijvers	Saint-Étienne	Netherlands

Notes

1. Despite being born in Argentina, Alfredo Di Stéfano acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956, and would play for the Spain national team.^[4]
2. Despite being born in Brazil, Júlio Botelho acquired Italian citizenship in 1956.

References

1. "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". RSSSF. 22 October 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
2. Pierrend, José Luis (23 October 2008). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1956". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
3. "50 Ans De Ballon D'Or" (in French). France Football. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
4. "Europe dazzled by Di Stéfano". UEFA. 22 November 2004. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2014.

External links

• France Football Official Ballon d'Or page