In 1977 the Ballon d'Or was won by Allan Simonsen. The small Dane helped Borussia Mönchengladbach win their third successive Bundesliga title and to reach the final of the European Cup that year. Simonsen's buccaneering style of play, full of tricks and turns, made him a huge crowd favourite.
| Embed from Getty Images |
| Allan Simonsen in action for Borussia Monchengladbach |
Simonsen 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 26 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, England, Finland, 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 27th, 1977.
| Name | Country | Club | Pts. |
|
1. |
Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Borussia M'gladbach | 74 |
2. |
Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburger SV | 71 |
3. |
Michel Platini | France | AS Nancy | 70 |
4. |
Roberto Bettega | Italy | Juventus | 39 |
5. |
Johan Cruyff | Holland | FC Barcelona | 23 |
6. |
Klaus Fischer | West Germany | Schalke 04 | 21 |
7. |
Tibor Nyilasi | Hungary | Ferencváros | 13 |
| Rob Rensenbrink | Holland | Anderlecht | 13 | |
9. |
Dudu Georgescu | Romania | Dinamo Bucharest | 6 |
10. |
Emlyn Hughes | England | Liverpool | 5 |
| Steve Heighway | Ireland | Liverpool | 5 | |
| Berti Vogts | West Germany | Borussia M'gladbach | 5 | |
13. |
Dominique Bathenay | France | AS Saint-Etienne | 4 |
| Trevor Brooking | England | West Ham United | 4 | |
| Anders Linderoth | Sweden | Olympique Marseille | 4 | |
| Ronnie Hellström | Sweden | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 4 | |
| Franco Causio | Italy | Juventus | 4 | |
18. |
Ruud Krol | Holland | Ajax | 3 |
| Marius Tresor | France | Olympique Marseille | 3 | |
20. |
Rainer Bonhof | West Germany | Borussia M'gladbach | 2 |
| Heinz Flohe | West Germany | 1. FC Köln | 2 | |
| Ruud Geels | Holland | Ajax | 2 | |
| Dieter Müller | West Germany | 1. FC Köln | 2 | |
| Peter Shilton | England | Nottingham Forest | 2 | |
| José Martinez Sánchez | Spain | Real Madrid | 2 | |
26. |
Giancarlo Antognoni | Italy | AC Fiorentina | 1 |
| Jürgen Grabowski | West Germany | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1 | |
| Gérard Janvion | France | AS Saint-Etienne | 1 | |
| Ray Kennedy | England | Liverpool | 1 | |
| Hans Krankl | Austria | Rapid Vienna | 1 | |
| Gordon McQueen | Scotland | Leeds United | 1 | |
| Andras Toroczik | Hungary | Ujpesti Dozsa | 1 | |
1976 • European Footballer of the Year • 1978