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EUROPEAN 
FOOTBALLER of the YEAR
     
 
Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopa was born in France to a Polish immigrant family (family name Kopaszewski) and played for Reims in the first European Cup final against Real Madrid. He impressed the Spaniards who bought him and in 1958 he was a member of the Real side that won the European Cup and the France side that finished third in the World Cup finals. 		 

1958 Winner: Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid & France)

Real Madrid were still dominant in Europe, winning the European Cup again in 1958. However it was probably the World Cup which had the biggest influence on the voting. A Pele-inspired Brazil won the competition played in Sweden but the other seven quarter-finalists were all European. All the leading contenders for the 1958 award were from those quarter-finalists with the exception of those from England, who were knocked-out at the group stage. Other Brits in the vote were Colin McDonald of Burnley and England who was 11th and Northern Ireland's captain Danny Blanchflower who was in 19th= position.

Top 10  placings - 
   
   
Position Votes
1st Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid & France) 71
2nd Helmut Rahn (Rot-Weiss Essen & West Germany) 40
3rd Juste Fontaine (Reims & France) 23
4th= Kurt Hamrin (Fiorentina & Sweden) 16
John Charles (Juventus & Wales) 15
6th Billy Wright (Wolves & England) 9
7th Johnny Haynes (Fulham & England) 7
8th= Nils Liedholm (AC Milan & Sweden) 6
Horst Szymaniak (Wuppertaler & West Germany) 6
Harry Gregg (Manchester United & Northern Ireland) 6