The Golden Ball winners in FIFA World Cup
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| Paolo Rossi |
The
Golden Ball award is given to the best player of the World Cup football tournament. This was first awarded in 1982, and champion Italian footballer “Paolo Rossi” got that award for the first time. Currently, this award is commercially named as "
Adidas Golden Ball". The
Golden Ball award for the best footballer at every
FIFA World Cup finals is given from a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner is voted for by representatives of the media. Those footballers who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball awards as the second and the third most outstanding players in the tournament respectively.
This award is given by FIFA at the conclusion of each World Cup tournament. From 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, this award was introduced; before that there was no award like this for the best players of the World Cup football tournament. So, great players like, Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano, Frence Puskas, Garrincha could not get this type of award.
