Pallone d'Oro

The Pallone d'Oro ("Golden Ball") is an annual football award presented by Italian news magazine La Gazetta dello Sport that is one of the oldest and generally regarded as the most prestigious individual award for football players. It has been awarded since 1930 with an interruption between 1942 and 1947.

Conceived by sports writer and La Gazetta dello Sport director Emilio Colombo, the Pallon d'Oro award honours the male player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists of country that have participated in a FIFA World Cup.

History
This award was created in 1930 by La Gazetta dello Sport magazine, at the instigation of its journalists Emilio Colombo, Bruno Roghi and Ugo Toffaletti

Attribution
Since 1930, the ranking has been established according to the vote of an international panel of journalists.

The selection criteria are based on individual performances, individual and collective rewards and then the player's career.

From 1930 to 1942, journalists vote for a single player. From 1947 the journalists choose 3 players which they classify from 1st to 3rd, the first place is worth 4 points, the second place, 2 points and the third place, 1 point.

In 1930, a panel of 28 journalists voted to elect the Pallone d'Oro against 34 between 1938 and 1949 then 43 journalists in 1961.

Trophy
The Pallone d'Oro trophy is designed in Milan by the Italian jeweler Buccellati, and its value is estimated at $ 13,000