1956 was the first year that the Ballon d'Or was awarded. Unlike the current award, it was awarded only to football players from Europe. At the time the prize was widely known as the European Footballer of the Year award.
The award was presented on 18 December 1956. Below are the 25 nominees in the final order after voting for the 1956 award. The winner was English player Stanley Matthews, who was playing for Blackpool FC in the English First Division at the time. At the time, Matthews was 41 years old, making him the oldest player to receive the honor. His win was a recognition of his extraordinary career, which spanned several decades.
See the list of all Ballon d'Or winners.
Final order for the men's 1956 Ballon d'Or
Order | Player | Club | Nationality | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stanley Matthews | Blackpool | England | 47 |
2 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid | Spain | 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 | 4 | |
Billy Wright | Wolverhampton Wanderers | England | 4 | |
12 | Júlio Botelho | Fiorentina | Italy | 3 |
13 | Stefan Bozhkov | CDNA Sofia | Bulgaria | 2 |
Duncan Edwards | Manchester United | England | 2 | |
Gerhard Hanappi | Rapid Wien | Austria | 2 | |
Robert Jonquet | Reims | France | 2 | |
Miguel Montuori | Fiorentina | Italy | 2 | |
Pepillo | Sevilla | Spain | 2 | |
Juan Alberto Schiaffino | Milan | Italy | 2 | |
Eduard Streltsov | Torpedo Moscow | Soviet Union | 2 | |
21 | Marcelino Campanal | Sevilla | Spain | 1 |
Břetislav Dolejší | Dukla Prague | Czechoslovakia | 1 | |
Roger Piantoni | FC Nancy | France | 1 | |
Kees Rijvers | Saint-Étienne | Netherlands | 1 |
Related Pages
- Ballon d'Or Home
- Men's Ballon d'Or Winner's List
- Football Awards Lists
- List of the FIFA male player of the year and FIFA female player of the year.
- History of the Ballon d'Or
- The Year in Sport: 1956