Surpassed Beckenbauer and Cruyff: 50 years ago, a Ukrainian was recognized as the best footballer in Europe for the first time in history
Kyiv • UNN
Oleh Blokhin, a Soviet and Ukrainian athlete, former Dynamo Kyiv footballer and ex-coach of the Ukrainian national team, won the European Player of the Year award - the "Ballon d'Or" - in 1975.
On this day in 1975, the legendary former Dynamo Kyiv footballer and ex-coach of the Ukrainian national team Oleh Blokhin won the award for the best player in Europe - the "Golden Ball". Blokhin became the first Ukrainian to achieve this feat. This was reported by the Ukrainian Association of Football, according to UNN.
Details
On December 30, 1975, the New Year's issue of France Football was released, announcing the results of the voting for the best European footballer. Oleh Blokhin, forward for Dynamo Kyiv and the USSR national team, won an undisputed victory in the anniversary 20th poll (122 points), beating such world football stars as German Franz Beckenbauer (42 points) and Dutchman Johan Cruyff (27 points).
As the Association reminded, that year, the Dynamo team, under the leadership of Valeriy Lobanovskyi, won the Cup Winners' Cup and became the holders of the UEFA Super Cup, twice defeating the famous Munich "Bayern".
Blokhin became the second Soviet footballer (after Lev Yashin) to receive this prestigious award, and the first Ukrainian to achieve this feat. Later, his success was repeated by Ihor Belanov (recognized as the best European player in 1986) and Andriy Shevchenko (winner of the "Golden Ball" in 2004).
Addition
Earlier, Blokhin himself said that he initially thought it was a New Year's joke when he learned about his victory in the voting.
I found out about the victory a week before the New Year. I think I was at home - I seemed to have something wrong with my leg then. I received a call from the editorial office of the "Sovetsky Sport" newspaper and was informed about winning the "Golden Ball". At first, I thought it was a pre-New Year's joke.
Recall
In Paris, at the Châtelet Theatre, the best player in the world for the 2024/2025 season was determined - the "Golden Ball" award. The winner of the "Golden Ball" among men was French PSG winger Ousmane Dembélé, and for the third time in a row, Barcelona footballer Aitana Bonmatí became the best female player in the world.