A plethora of football superstars will be on display when the 2022 FIFA World Cup finally gets underway on Sunday. The skies of Qatar will be lit up with fireworks from mercurial talents like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane among others who will be vying to take football’s biggest title back to their homeland.
Though football is a team sport, individual brilliance has often hogged the limelight at the World Cups. From Diego Maradona’s scintillating run in the 1986 World Cup to Messi leading Argentina to the final in 2014, great players have often decided the fate of their side almost single-handedly.
The Golden Ball, Golden Boot, and Golden Gloves are the three individual awards that are presented at the World cup. The best player of the tournament is awarded the Golden Ball while the top scorer receives the Golden Boot Award. The best shot-stopper of the tournament is bestowed with the Golden Glove award.
Over the years many great players have been conferred with the three honours. As we head into the FIFA World Cup, let’s take a look at all the winners from the previous editions:
Golden Ball
1930 – José Nasazzi (Uruguay)
1934 – Giuseppe Meazza (Italy)
1938 – Leonidas da Silva (Brazil)
1950 – Zizinho (Brazil)
1954 – Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)
1958 – Didí (Brazil)
1962 – Garrincha (Brazil)
1966 – Bobby Charlton (England)
1970 – Pelé (Brazil)
1974 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1982 – Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1986 – Diego Maradona (Argentina)
1990 – Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
1994 – Romário (Brazil)
1998 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
2002 – Oliver Kahn (Germany)
2006 – Zinedine Zidane (France)
2010 – Diego Forlán (Uruguay)
2014 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2018 – Luka Modrić (Croatia)
Golden Boot Winners
1930 – Guillermo Stabile (Argentina)
1934 – Oldrich Nejedly (Czech Republic)
1938 – Leonidas (Brazil)
1950 – Ademir (Brazil)
1954 – Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)
1958 – Just Fontaine (France)
1962 – Florian Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Garrincha (Brazil), Vava (Brazil), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile)
1966 – Eusebio (Portugal)
1970 – Gerd Muller (Germany)
1974 – Grzegorz Lato (Poland)
1978 – Mario Kempes (Argentina)
1982 – Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1986 – Gary Lineker (England)
1990 – Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
1994 – Oleg Salenko (Russia), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
1998 – Davor Suker (Croatia)
2002 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
2006 – Miroslav Klose (Germany)
2010 – Thomas Muller (Germany)
2014 – James Rodríguez (Colombia)
2018 – Harry Kane (England)
Golden Glove Winners
1930 – Enrique Ballestrero (Uruguay)
1934 – Ricardo Zamora (Spain)
1938 – Frantisek Planicka (Czechoslovakia)
1950 – Roque Maspoli (Uruguay)
1954 – Gyula Grosics (Hungary)
1958 – Harry Gregg (Northern Ireland)
1962 – Viliam Schrojf (Czechoslovakia)
1966 – Gordon Banks (England)
1970 – Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (Uruguay)
1974 – Sepp Maier (West Germany)
1978 – Ubaldo Fillol (Argentina)
1982 – Dino Zoff (Italy)
1986 – Jean-Marie Pfaff (Belgium)
1990 – Luis Gabelo Conejo (Costa Rica), Sergio Goycochea (Argentina)
1994 – Michel Preud’homme (Belgium)
1998 – Fabien Barthez (France)
2002 – Oliver Kahn (Germany)
2006 – Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
2010 – Iker Casillas (Spain)
2014 – Manuel Neuer (Germany)
2018 – Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
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