Keeping up with the changes at No. 1
Tradition, however, appears to be weighted firmly in favour of the superstar goalscorer: Somewhat remarkably, in the 61 years since Stanley Matthews was the inaugural winner of the most prestigious player of the year award, only one goalkeeper has managed to get his gloves on the gong — Russia’s legendary man in black, Lev Yashin, and that was way back in 1963.
Not that ‘Gigi’ Buffon needs any further official recognition to be judged among the greatest and most successful players in the history of the game. Indeed, one of the principal reasons many neutrals will be rooting for Juventus against Real Madrid in Cardiff is because they know that should the Old Lady prevail, the Old Man, at the age of 39, will finally add that elusive Champions League medal to his glittering store of 22 trophies, including the 2006 World Cup and, most recently, this year’s league and cup with Juve.
