If anyone personifies the image of the Ballon d’Or, then it must be Marco Van Basten. Along with Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini, he is one of only three men to have lifted the Golden Ball trophy on three separate occasions.
The Milan hero is widely considered the most complete striker of all time and could’ve won many more had his career not been so cruelly cut short at the age of just 28. “Football has lost its Leonardo Da Vinci,” said Adriano Galliani. “He was everything, you see – an architect and an artist.”
He was two-footed, athletic and graceful as befitting someone who originally wanted to be a gymnast. One of the first major signings of President Silvio Berlusconi’s tenure in 1987, he was quickly followed by Dutch teammates Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. For the next few years, the trio would dominate Italian, European and international football as well as the Ballon d’Or voting.
Young Marcel – for that is his full name – started his career at a local Utrecht side before joining Ajax, aged 17. Fittingly enough, he made his debut on April 3, 1982, by substituting Cruyff and scored a goal. Top marksman in the Dutch Eredivisie for four consecutive campaigns thanks to an extraordinary 117 goals in 112 matches, he was unstoppable. The Golden Boot award followed in 1986 after scoring 37 times in 26 games and then the Cup-Winners Cup. It was clear he was destined for greatness and decided to test himself against the toughest defences of all in Serie A.
Milan were just starting Silvio Berlusconi’s ambitious project at the time, as he rescued the club from bankruptcy, but made a clear statement of intent by spending $800,000 to bring in the 22-year-old Oranje hero. He began with typical flair, scoring on his Rossoneri debut against Pisa on September 13, 1987, but despite his side winning the title for the first time in nine years and with some decisive goals against Napoli and Empoli, Van Basten spent six months on the treatment table after ankle surgery and played only 11 games.
He was to return a new man for the next campaign, having won the European Championship with Holland. Originally dropped from the line-up, Van Basten bagged a hat-trick against England, scored an astounding late winner against West Germany and in the Final netted perhaps the most famous goal in the history of the competition, that volley from the tightest of angles to beat the USSR 2-0.
If Holland earned Van Basten his first Ballon d’Or in 1988, then Milan helped him to a second 12 months later. Getting a brace in the European Cup Final against Steaua Bucharest, then securing the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup, he again crushed the opposition to take the France Football trophy. For the second year running, the entire podium was made up of Rossoneri players. “Van Basten – the Divine,” wrote journalist Gianni Brera.
Milan retained the European Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup, but that year also found a disappointing World Cup for the Dutch trio. A poor season followed with Sampdoria taking the Scudetto, Van Basten’s falling out with Arrigo Sacchi and Milan’s year-long ban from Europe.
However, Marco was back in business with the Capocannoniere crown for 1991-92 with 25 goals in 31 games for Fabio Capello’s Milan – the highest Serie A tally in 26 years – who remained unbeaten for the entire tournament. In November 1992 he got four goals against both Scudetto rivals Napoli and Champions League side Goteborg, the kind of form that earned Van Basten his third Ballon d’Or trophy a few weeks later.
More were expected in this glittering career, but the right ankle injury that had plagued him since his teenage years became chronic. "Marco always played football like a ballerina, but his ankle eventually couldn't take the strain," said surgeon Rene Marti. He went under the knife in early 1993 and tried to battle on for another two years and three operations, but in the end had to concede it was over. His last game was the Champions League Final defeat to Olympique Marseille on May 26, 1993, aged 28.
“I tried two weeks of pre-season training and I intensely believed I could play again, going to surgeons, acupuncturists, even a witch! I spent eight wonderful years at Milan, but I cannot be a football player any more. This is life.” A moved Marco saluted the 70,000 fans at San Siro during the traditional summer Trofeo Berlusconi on August 18, 1995. The Gazzetta dello Sport headline read: ‘Where are we ever going to find someone like him again?’ They’re still searching.
The 1988 Golden Ball podium
Marco Van Basten (Milan) 129 points
Ruud Gullit (Milan) 88 points
Frank Rijkaard (Milan) 45 points
The 1989 Golden Ball podium
Marco Van Basten (Milan) 119 points
Franco Baresi (Milan) 80 points
Frank Rijkaard (Milan) 43 points
The 1992 Golden Ball podium
Marco Van Basten (Milan) 98 points
Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona) 80 points
Dennis Bergkamp (Ajax) 53 points
