One of the finest sweeper the game of football has ever produced, Matthias Sammer was voted the Ballon D'Or winner for the European Footballer of the Year in 1996 by France Football with his great efforts that helped Germany to victory in the UEFA Euro 96 in England. He was also instrumental in that same year to the exploits of his club Borussia Dortmond to win the German Bundesliga in the 1997/1996 season which culminated in them winning the UEFA Champions League in 1997.
Badou Ezzaki (nicknamed "Zaki") of Morocco was named by France Football magazine as African Footballer of the Year for 1986 while he was playing for RCD Mallorca in the Spanish Primera Liga. Zaki is the second goalkeeper to win the award after Thomas Nkono of Cameroon won it twice in 1979 while playing with Canon Yaounde and in 1982 for RCD Espanyol in Spain.
In the last 50 years, no Spanish player has won the Ballon d’or for the European Football Player of the Year organised by France Football magazine and the FIFA World Player Award which have been merged and rechristened the FIFA Ballon d'or Awards in 2010. The last man to achieve this feat was Luis Suárez Miramontes of FC Barcelona in 1960.
