In 1968 the Ballon d'Or was won by George Best. The mercurial attacker helped his club Manchester United win the European Cup in 1968, scoring one of the goals that beat Benfica in the final. Very much at the peak of his powers, El Beatle also topped the English top scorers list with 28 goals.
| Embed from Getty Images |
| George Best receives the Ballon d'Or |
Best being voted European Footballer of the Year was the outcome of a ballot held among a panel of football journalists organised by the magazine France Football, with one vote coming from each of the following 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, West Germany and Yugoslavia.
The result was announced in the edition dated December 24th, 1968.
| Name | Country | Club | Pts. |
|
1. |
George Best | Northern Ireland | Manchester United | 61 |
2. |
Bobby Charlton | England | Manchester United | 53 |
3. |
Dragan Dzajic | Yugoslavia | Red Star Belgrade | 46 |
4. |
Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 36 |
5. |
Giacinto Facchetti | Italy | Inter Milan | 30 |
6. |
Luigi Riva | Italy | Cagliari | 22 |
7. |
Amancio Amaro | Spain | Real Madrid | 21 |
8. |
Eusebio | Portugal | Benfica | 15 |
9. |
Gianni Rivera | Italy | AC Milan | 13 |
10. |
Jimmy Greaves | England | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| José Martínez Sánchez | Spain | Real Madrid | 8 |
|
12. |
Willi Schulz | West Germany | Hamburger SV | 7 |
| Antal Dunai | Hungary | Ujpesti Dozsa | 7 |
|
14. |
Georgi Asparukhov | Bulgaria | Levski Sofia | 6 |
| Albert Shesternev | Soviet Union | Torpedo Moscow | 6 |
|
16. |
Ove Kindvall | Sweden | Feyenoord | 5 |
17. |
Lajos Szucs | Hungary | Ferencváros | 4 |
| Alessandro Mazzola | Italy | Inter Milan | 4 |
|
| Florian Albert | Hungary | Ferencváros | 4 |
|
20. |
Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 3 |
| Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Ajax | 3 |
|
22. |
Jacky Charlton | England | Leeds United | 2 |
| Bobby Moore | England | West Ham United | 2 |
|
24. |
Alan Ball | England | Everton | 1 |
| Ferenc Bene | Hungary | Ujpesti Dozsa | 1 |
|
| Angelo Domenghini | Italy | Inter Milan | 1 |
|
| Mirsad Fazlagic | Yugoslavia | FK Sarajevo | 1 |
|
| Tommy Gemmel | Scotland | Celtic | 1 |
|
| Jimmy Johnstone | Scotland | Celtic | 1 |
|
| Murtaz Khurtsilava | Soviet Union | Dinamo Tbilisi | 1 |
|
| Ivica Osim | Yugoslavia | Zeljeznicar Sarajevo | 1 |
|
| Louis Pilot | Luxembourg | Standard Liège | 1 |
|
1967 • European Footballer of the Year • 1969