Inter at the Ballon d'Or: nominees, previous Nerazzurri winners and fun facts | OneFootball

Class, history, and unparalleled attraction: ever since its inception, the Ballon d’Or has become a symbol of excellence, dreamed of by players worldwide and admired by fans across the globe.

The 69th edition of the Ballon d'Or concluded with victory for Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousman Dembélé. Among the finalists were two Inter players: Lautaro Martínez, earning his fourth career nomination, finished 20th, while Denzel Dumfries, making the shortlist for the first time, placed 25th. The winner was selected by a jury of 100 journalists from around the world, each representing one of the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking. The jury cast its votes from a shortlist of 30 candidates, selected by the editorial teams of France Football and L’Équipe, under the supervision of two international figures: this year, Luís Figo, winner of the 2000 Ballon d’Or, and Fabio Capello. The criteria focus on individual performances and team achievements.

Here is an overview of all the Ballon d'Or editions involving Inter players since the award was established in 1956.

NERAZZURRI BALLON D’OR WINNERS

LOTHAR MATTHÄUS

Number 10, complete midfielder and the driving force of a record-breaking Inter: Lothar Matthäus was the first Inter player to win the Ballon d’Or. In 1990, France Football presented him with the award after Lothar won the Italia ‘90 World Cup with West Germany.

Matthäus presented his Ballon d’Or to the Nerazzurri fans at San Siro on 10 March 1991, before Inter vs Juventus, which ended 2-0 with a goal scored by the German. Lothar was celebrated in a ceremony that saw children wearing Inter and Germany shirts.

RONALDO  4 January 1998, on a cold Winter Sunday, Inter were ready to return to the pitch after the league’s Christmas break. An important match against Juventus awaited the Nerazzurri; once again, the match was preceded by celebrations for an Interista Ballon d’Or winner. It was Luis Nazario de Lima, known by everyone as Ronaldo, il Fenomeno, who on that very evening, provided the assist for Youri Djorkaeff’s winning goal following an incredible run down the line.

The first Brazilian ever to receive the France Football award, Ronaldo who arrived at Inter the previous July, made the Nerazzurri fans dream; on that day, they embraced their champion, celebrating his unparalleled greatness. After winning the 1997 edition, Ronaldo would be crowned again in 2002, after winning the World Cup as top scorer with Brazil.

BALLON D’OR DREAM TEAM

Two extraordinary players, two footballers who won the Ballon d’Or wearing the Nerazzurro shirt. Two legends, who in 2020, were included in the ‘Ballon d’Or Dream Team,’ the best eleven in history selected by the Ballon d’Or jury after the historic French magazine decided not to present the award that year.

Here is the Dream Team, made up of the best players from 1956 to 2020:

Yashin; Cafù, Beckenbauer, Maldini; Maradona, Xavi, Matthäus, Pelé; Messi, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo.

THE OTHER WINNERS

Whilst Matthäus and Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or whilst playing for Inter, there are other players who have won the France Football award before or after their Inter careers. For example, Luis Suárez (1960, Barcelona), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980 and 1981, Bayern Munich), Roberto Baggio (1993, Juventus), Matthias Sammer (1996, Borussia Dortmund), Luís Figo (2000, Barcelona) and Fabio Cannavaro (2006, Real Madrid).

BONUS TRACK: ALL OF INTER’S NOMINEES IN HISTORY

There have been 33 players in Inter’s history who have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, from 14 different nationalities. The Nerazzurro player to have received the most nominees is Sandro Mazzola with 9, followed by Giacinto Facchetti with 8. Matthäus, Ronaldo and Suárez complete the podium. In addition to victories, there have been 8 Nerazzurri players on the podium: six in second place and two in third.

Luis Suárez came in 2nd place in 1961 (winner: Sivori) and in 1964 (winner: Law), Facchetti in 1965 (winner: Eusebio), Mazzola in 1971 (winner: Cruyff), Matthäus in 1991 (winner: Papin), Dennis Bergkamp in 1993 (winner: Baggio).

Andreas Brehme came third in 1990, whilst Ronaldo came third in 1998.

Below are the details of all the Inter nominees by edition and final position: