Michel Platini‘s 1985 Ballon d’Or was his third award win in a golden period for the Frenchman.
The only other player to claim a trio of prizes was Johan Cruyff with triumphs in 1971, 1973 and 1974.
Yet Platini was the first to claim three consecutive Ballon d’Or’s – a feat that wouldn’t be repeated until Lionel Messi’s achievements from 2009 to 2011.
Still riding high on the wave of France’s victorious 1984 European Championship campaign, Platini headed into the new season full of supreme confidence and expectation.
Destined to win three Ballon d’Or in a row.
A Lack Of Competition
There was no disputing Platini’s 1984 Ballon d’Or win. Without question, the Frenchman was the single greatest European player on the planet, romping home with a landslide victory in the vote.
That honour was always his, having won a league and European cup double with Juventus, as well as scoring 13 goals in a calendar year for France on their way to Euro 84 glory.
Twelve months on and Platini’s coronation was far less convincing while also certainly up for debate. Was he partly living off reputation?
Platini’s main competition was Ballon d’Or runner-up – Verona’s Preben Elkjær-Larsen. During his debut season, the striker scored a modest ten goals in Serie A, yet playing an instrumental role as the Italian side won a league title for the first time in their history.
During the 1984/85 season, Platini was predictably impressive, scoring 29 goals in 48 games across all competitions, his best total in a Juventus shirt.
Despite his extraordinary efforts, Platini missed out on the Scudetto, with Juventus finishing in a disappointing sixth place.
His international year was fairly mediocre too by the high standards previously set. The Frenchman managed only two goals in six games for Les Blues.
However, Platini began the following 1985/86 campaign in fine form and although he scored just 16 times, would help guide Juventus to the Serie A title once more.
An Abundance Of Pedigree
Like many of the Ballon d’Or winners before him, votes for Michel Platini seemed greatly influenced by his displays throughout a successful European Cup run.
In the first round first leg, Platini converted a penalty vs Finland’s Ilves and twice in the second leg as Juventus won 6-1 on aggregate.
The Frenchman then struck a brace in the second round second leg away at Swiss side Grasshopper. Platini also went on to find the net during their semi-final victory vs Bordeaux in Turin.
In a final largely marred by crowd trouble, Platini delivered a winning 58th-minute penalty, Juventus crowned Champions and lifting their maiden European Cup.
He scored seven times in 9 European appearances as joint top scorer along with IFK Goteborg and Sweden’s Torbjörn Nilsson.
With European Cup glory, Platini was again recognised as the continent’s finest player for a third and final time.
His immovable legacy etched into football history.
1985 Ballon d’Or Top 20
| Rank | Name | Club(s) | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Platini | Juventus | France | 127 |
| 2 | Preben Elkjær | Hellas Verona | Denmark | 71 |
| 3 | Bernd Schuster | Barcelona | West Germany | 46 |
| 4 | Michael Laudrup | Juventus | Denmark | 14 |
| 5 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Internazionale | West Germany | 13 |
| 6 | Zbigniew Boniek | Roma | Poland | 12 |
| 7 | Oleh Protasov | Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk | Soviet Union | 10 |
| 8 | Hans-Peter Briegel | Hellas Verona | West Germany | 9 |
| 9 | Bryan Robson | Manchester United | England | 8 |
| Rinat Dasayev | Spartak Moscow | Soviet Union | ||
| 11 | Rudi Völler | Werder Bremen | West Germany | 7 |
| 12 | Luis Fernández | Paris Saint-Germain | France | 6 |
| Søren Lerby | Bayern Munich | Denmark | ||
| 14 | Rafael Gordillo | Real Madrid | Spain | 5 |
| Ian Rush | Liverpool | Wales | ||
| 16 | Emilio Butragueño | Real Madrid | Spain | 4 |
| Fernando Gomes | Porto | Portugal | ||
| 18 | Harald Schumacher | 1. FC Köln | West Germany | 3 |
| John Sivebæk | Vejle | Denmark | ||
| Neville Southall | Everton | Wales |
Trivia
This was Michel Platini’s narrowest Ballon d’Or win in terms of points total – claiming victory by a margin of 56 points – in comparison to 71 points in 1984 and a huge 85 points in 1983!
At the age of 28, Preben Elkjær-Larsen’s league title win with Verona was his last major honour.
Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster finished on the Ballon d’Or ‘podium’ a total of three times. Third place on two occasions in 1981 and 1985 along with a runner-up spot in 1980.
