In 1983 the Ballon d'Or was won by Michel Platini. The gifted French midfielder topped the goal scorers list of the Serie A that year, having scored 16 goals during his first season in Italy. Platini also helped his club Juventus win the Coppa Italia and reach the final of the European Cup.
| Embed from Getty Images |
| Michel Platini in action for Juventus during the 1983 European Cupfinal |
Platini being named 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, 1983.
| Name | Country | Club | Pts. |
|
1. |
Michel Platini | France | Juventus | 110 |
2. |
Kenny Dalglish | Scotland | Liverpool | 26 |
3. |
Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Vejle BK | 25 |
4. |
Gordon Strachan | Scotland | Aberdeen | 24 |
5. |
Felix Magath | West Germany | Hamburger SV | 20 |
6. |
Jean Marie Pfaff | Belgium | Bayern Munich | 15 |
| Rinat Dasajev | Soviet Union | Spartak Moscow | 15 | |
8. |
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 14 |
| Jesper Olsen | Denmark | Ajax | 14 | |
10. |
Bryan Robson | England | Manchester United | 13 |
11. |
Fernando Gomes | Portugal | FC Porto | 10 |
| Bernd Schuster | West Germany | FC Barcelona | 10 | |
| Frankie Vercauteren | Belgium | Anderlecht | 10 | |
| Alain Giresse | France | Girondins de Bordeaux | 10 | |
15. |
Safet Susic | Yugoslavia | Paris Saint-Germain | 8 |
| Ian Rush | Wales | Liverpool | 8 | |
17. |
Morten Olsen | Denmark | Anderlecht | 6 |
18. |
Norman Whiteside | Northern Ireland | Manchester United | 5 |
| 19. | Bruno Conti | Italy | AS Roma | 4 |
| Eric Gerets | Belgium | AC Milan | 4 | |
| Erwin Vandenbergh | Belgium | Anderlecht | 4 | |
| Michael Laudrup | Denmark | Lazio Roma | 4 | |
23. |
Liam Brady | Ireland | Sampdoria | 3 |
| Antonio Cabrini | Italy | Juventus | 3 | |
| Carlos Manuel Santos | Portugal | Benfica | 3 | |
| Vasilis Hatzipanagis | Greece | Iraklis | 3 | |
| Glenn Hysén | Sweden | IFK Gothenburg | 3 | |
| Paolo Rossi | Italy | Juventus | 3 | |
| Costica Stefanescu | Romania | Universitatea Craiova | 3 | |
30. |
Zbigniew Boniek | Poland | Juventus | 2 |
| Fedor Cherenkov | Soviet Union | Spartak Moscow | 2 | |
| Ruud Gullit | Holland | Feyenoord | 2 | |
33. |
Søren Lerby | Denmark | Bayern Munich | 1 |
| Stoicho Mladenov | Bulgaria | CSKA Sofia | 1 | |
| Tibor Nyilasi | Hungary | Austria Vienna | 1 | |
| Rudi Völler | West Germany | Werder Bremen | 1 | |
1982 • European Footballer of the Year • 1984