Reciting Success of FIFA Golden Ball Winners Who Set World Cup Ablaze

Passion, love, commitment, honesty and ability to deal with intense pressure, football over the years has crowned players who changed the game forever. Re-visiting the greats of 21st century, here we look at FIFA Golden Ball winners and understand the very idea behind presenting the Golden Ball.

What is Golden Ball?

An award introduced in 1982, is presented to the best player in the FIFA World Cup final tournament. At the end of every successive edition, FIFA hands out the list of players considered for the award, which is voted by members of media. FIFA not only recognizes the best, but also the second and third best, who are given silver and bronze ball respectively.

Here is the list of golden ball winners since 2000:

Oliver Kahn — 2002

The German national became the first goalkeeper to win the Golden Ball in 2002. The player winning the golden ball was a huge upset for second placed RONALDO, widely popular and the winner of World Cup that year. Amongst the golden ball winners in football, Kahn has always been rated very highly. In 2002, while Germany were not amongst favourites, Kahn’s five clean sheets and exceptional display letting only three goals inside his net, assured they reached as far as final. Though Kahn never won a World Cup, he finished as a runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006.

Zinedine Zidane — 2006

The French midfield maestro, Zidane is known both for his heroics and head butt to Italian Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final. The French national, renowned for his amazing technical ability on the floor, scored the famous Panenka-style penalty kick to beat Gianluigi Buffon in the 2006 final. He defeated Fabio Cannavaro and Andrea Pirlo to earn himself the Golden Ball. The French number 10 registered three goals and an assist to his name throughout the tournament.

Diego Forlan — 2010

Setting the tournament ablaze, Forlan is the righteous name in FIFA Golden Ball Winners list. The Uruguayan was the joint-top scorer with 5 goals, 1 assist and also scored first brace of the 2010 World Cup. Notably, Forlan scored three goals from outside the penalty area, making him the first player since Lothar Matthäus in 1990, to achieve the feat. Forlan’s effort saw his nation become South America’s only semi-finalist, where they lost to Netherlands. He overcame Wesley Sneijder and David Villa, as the closely fought contestants for the award.

Lionel Messi — 2014

Getting comparisons to Diego Maradona, FIFA Golden Ball winners list also honours one of the world’s greatest footballer. During the 2014 edition, Messi bagged man of the match awards in Argentina’s first four matches. His contributions paved way for his team to reach the final of 2014, where they narrowly lost by 1–0 to Germany. He was the joint-highest goal scorer with four goals and an assist. The forward also created most chances, completed most dribbles and made most deliveries in the penalty area. Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben finished as second and third respectively behind the GOAT.

Luka Modric — 2018

Croatia was a team not many thought would excel at the 2018 World Cup, but Luka Modric’s hard work earned him name in the FIFA Golden Ball winner’s history. During the 2018 stint, Modric scored two goals and created one assist for his team. He was thrice named man of the match, with his stellar performances coming against Nigeria, Argentina and Russia. He edged out Eden Hazard and Antoine Griezmann, to claim one of the top honours. Through Croatia lost the final by 4–2 to France, but it remains their best finish at the World Cup.