At the end of the decade Europe was in similar to South America situation: no truly outstanding players. Some were already too old, others still young and not trusted. The Europeans were not as adventures as the South Americans and voted for the well known. Upcoming stars did not get many votes – Hansi Muller got only 1, for instance. Michel Platini was good for only 5th place – the European journalists did not give credit even when presented with evidence. Club success was strong guiding principle – Maradona would never have been voted first in Europe because his club did not win a trophy. But lacking players like Beckenbauer and Cruyff, the European journalists went full ahead for the best known name at the moment… Kevin Keegan was overwhelming winner with 118 points. The second placed had less than half of that: 52. Further down was the 3rd – 41, and then there was one more chasm between him and the 5th, who had 27. Manfred Kaltz was 5th… perhaps at his best at exactly that time. He was ahead of Platini, who also was peaking. Ruud Krol was 3rd – if consistency was valued, he should have been 1st – at the moment, he was arguably the best European defender and was top world class player for many years. But Ajax was a pale shadow of what it was in the beginning of the 1970s… and Krol was not getting many votes. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was 2nd – again a player at his prime, but… Bayern was in deep crisis, so forget him. A few players should have been higher – but they were not, because conservatives voted and they deemed them too young to be a certain quality, or playing for smaller clubs to be real stars, or playing for teams not winning. Uli Stielike, Bruno Pezzey, Kenny Dalglish, Paolo Rossi, Liam Brady, Marius Tresor, Franco Causio – they were all at their best form and got little recognition. Then again, who can really tell who is best? Every name can be objected. Success was solid criteria, Hamburger SV was rapidly rising, Keegan was essential for that, he was already a superstar, he had strong season, and… he was perhaps ranked lower than he should have been a few years back. Journalists voted for him massively. He had no real rival too… And there is no need to say anything more about him – Keegan needs no introduction.
Kevin Keegan – the European player of the year for a second time. Adorable player even when he is not looking pleased.