The ''Bola de Ouro'' (Golden Ball) is an annual award given each year, since 1973, by Brazilian sports magazine ''

Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...

'' to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro. A group of sports journalists watch every match of the competition and rate players 1 to 10 based on their performance. At the end of the season, the players with the best average rating in each position are awarded the ''Bola de Prata'' (Silver Ball), and the player with the best overall average rating is the recipient of the Bola de Ouro. The awards were first given in 1973, but since the

1970 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 1970 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the 1970 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa) was the 14th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. It began on September 20 and ended on December 20. Palmeiras came as the defending champion ha ...

the magazine had started to evaluate players. The 1971 winner, Dirceu Lopes, received the award in the 2013 edition. Since the 1975 edition Placar also started to award a Bola de Prata to the top goalscorer of the competition. The players with most Bola de Ouro wins are Falcão,

Toninho Cerezo Antônio Carlos Cerezo (born 21 April 1955), known as Toninho Cerezo (), is a Brazilian former footballer. Cerezo is commonly regarded as one of the finest Brazilian defensive midfielders of all time, most notably having played for his hometo ...

, Zico,

Roberto Costa Roberto Costa Cabral or Roberto Costa, as he was known, (born December 8, 1954 in Santos) is a former football player from Brazil. He played goalkeeper (height : 1,85m), mainly with Atlético Paranaense. He twice received the Bola de Ouro awar ...

and

César Sampaio Carlos César Sampaio Campos (born 31 March 1968) is a Brazilian football pundit and retired footballer, who played as a midfielder. Club career A former defensive midfielder, César Sampaio is one of the few players who played for the four ma ...

, each of them having won the award twice. Both Pelé and

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

were declared ''hors concours'', not being allowed to participate due to being unrivaled by any other player. Pelé was declared as such in 1970, receiving then a Golden Ball in a year with no other Golden Ball awarded, although Francisco Reyes would have been that years recipient.

was awarded his first Golden Ball in 2011 but later declared unrivaled, not being able to repeat his feat. They remain the only players with such honor. From 2016 onwards, the award was organized by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Winners

The award was not originally given from 1970 to 1972, but the following players had the best evaluation:

Players with multiple awards

Wins by club

Bola de Prata

Bola de Prata (Silver Ball) is given to the best players in their respective position (forward, defender, etc.) on the same points system. Therefore, the Brazilian team of the year is created.Bola de Prata – Histórico
''ESPN'', 29 June 2017 In 1973, Placar introduced the "Bola de Ouro", given to the best player of the league, according to Placar itself. In this year, two players shared the Bola de Ouro, this situation never occurred again. Players marked bold won the "Bola de Ouro" in that respective year.

Most appearances

Additional categories

In 1975, Placar started giving the Bola de Prata to the league's top scorer.

Foreign players awarded

Notes

* The Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão was first established in 2005.

Women's football

From the 2021 season onwards, the ''Bola de Ouro'' (Golden Ball) and ''Bola de Prata'' (Silver Ball) awards were given for the best players of the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino Série A1, using the same criteria as of for male players.

Bola de Ouro

Bola de Prata

Most appearances

Additional categories

References

External links

* Silver Ball " Bola de Prata Placar Magazine
Bola de Ouro (Placar Magazine)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bola De Ouro Brazilian football trophies and awards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 1973 establishments in Brazil Awards established in 1973 Awards by magazines Annual events in Brazil