When Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo (in pic) was awarded last year’s Ballon d’Or in recognition of his dazzling achievements over the course of 2013, he naturally had plenty of reason to celebrate although one could forgive him for feeling apprehensive about his country’s hopes at Brazil World Cup.
Portugal will go the tournament as dark horses heavily reliant on their captain and talisman Ronaldo, who will need to defy the odds if he is to avoid becoming another footnote in a cautionary tale.
Since the inception of the Ballon d’Or, conceived by France Football magazine in 1956 to recognise Europe, and then latterly, the world’s most outstanding player each year, of the 14 players in possession of the prize heading into a World Cup none have achieved ultimate success on the global stage.
Granted the facts are skewed to an extent given only European players were eligible for the prize prior to 1995, ruling out the likes of three-time World Cup winner Pele and Diego Maradona, who was central to Argentina’s 1986 triumph, but that still leaves some of the game’s most decorated players who have fallen short.
Take Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who won the first of his four consecutive Ballon d’Or awards in 2009, for example. Argentina breezed through to the quarterfinal before getting thrashed 0-4 by Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with Messi not contributing a single goal.
That provided merely just the latest chapter of a World Cup campaign ending in disappointment for the world’s leading player, a story that dates back to 1957 Ballon d’Or recipient and Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano.
For Argentine-born Di Stefano, who acquired Spanish citizenship in time for the 1958 qualifiers but Spain fell short in their quest to reach the WC finals leaving one of the world’s greatest players to ultimately finish his career without ever appearing at the World Cup.
The only other time the reigning winner didn’t appear at the global showcase was in 1978 when Danish striker Allan Simonsen, a European Cup finalist with Borussia Moenchengladbach the previous year, saw his nation’s hopes dashed in qualifying.
Other big names which failed to win the World Cup after receiving the award include Dutch legend Johan Cruyff (1974), Italy’s Gianna Rivera (1970), West Germany striker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1982) Brazil’s Ronaldo (1998) and Michel Platini (1986).