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EUROPEAN 
FOOTBALLER of the YEAR
     
 
Alfredo Di Stefano

The 'Blond Arrow' was one of the finest players ever to grace the game. He was in inspiration behind Real Madrid's dominance in Europe at the time and played at international level for three countries - Argentina, Colombia and Spain.
 

1957 Winner: Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid & Spain)

With Real Madrid sweeping all before them in Europe it was odds-on that the driving force behind their success, Alfredo Di Stefano, would be voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 - and he was, by a mile. The Brits did well though with Billy Wright a distant second in the voting, Duncan Edwards 3rd, John Charles 6th, Tommy Taylor 8th, Danny Blanchflower 14th= and  Johnny Haynes and previous winner Stanley Matthews tied in 17th place. Tragically, the events at Munich in February 1958 meant that two of those players would never get the opportunity to be included in the vote again.

Top 10 placings - 

   
   
Position Votes
1st Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid & Spain) 72
2nd Billy Wright (Wolves & England) 19
3rd= Duncan Edwards (Manchester United & England) 16
Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid & France) 16
5th Ladislao Kubala (Barcelona & Spain) 15
6th John Charles (Juventus & Wales) 14
7th Eduard Streltsov (Moscow Torpedo & Soviet Union) `12
8th Tommy Taylor (Manchester United & England) 10
9th= Josef Bozsik (Honved & Hungary) 9
Igor Netto (Dynamo Moscow & Soviet Union) 9