The Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball) is an annual award given each year, since 1973, by Brazilian sports magazine Placar 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.[1]
The awards were first given in 1973, but since the 1970 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 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, Zico, Roberto Costa and César Sampaio, each of them having won the award twice.
Both Pelé and Neymar 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. Neymar 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.
Winners
| ^ | Denotes players who are still active |
| * | Hors concours |
| † | Denotes player whose team won the Campeonato Brasileiro that year |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player had been named Bola de Ouro at that time |
| Player (in bold text) | Indicates the player who won the Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão in the same year[a] |
The award was not originally given from 1970 to 1972, but the following players had the best evaluation:
| Season | Player | Position | Nationality | Club | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Francisco Reyes | Defensive midfielder |  | Flamengo | |
| 1971 | Dirceu Lopes | Attacking midfielder |  | Cruzeiro | Award given in 2013 |
| 1972 | Elías Figueroa | Centre-back |  | Internacional |
Players with multiple awards
| ^ | Denotes players who are still active |
| * | Includes one Hors concours award |
Wins by club
| Club | Wins |
|---|---|
| Flamengo | 6 |
| Corinthians | 5 |
| Palmeiras | 5 |
| Santos | 5 |
| São Paulo | 5 |
| Atlético Mineiro | 4 |
| Cruzeiro | 4 |
| Grêmio | 4 |
| Internacional | 4 |
| Vasco da Gama | 3 |
| Athletico Paranaense | 2 |
| Fluminense | 2 |
| Bangu | 1 |
| Bragantino | 1 |
| Guarani | 1 |
| Red Bull Bragantino | 1 |
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.[2] 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.
| Season | Category | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O Artilheiro (Top Goalscorer) | A Revelação (Breakthrough Player) | Most Beautiful Goal Author | Best Coach | A Tribute to | ||
| 1970 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Pelé (Santos) (hors concours) | |
| 1971 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1972 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1973 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1974 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1975 | Flávio (Internacional) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1976 | Dario (Internacional) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1977 | Reinaldo (Atlético Mineiro) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1978 | Paulinho (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1979 | César (America) Roberto César (Cruzeiro) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1980 | Zico (Flamengo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1981 | Nunes (Flamengo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1982 | Zico (Flamengo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1983 | Serginho (Santos) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1984 | Roberto Dinamite (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1985 | Edmar (Guarani) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1986 | Careca (São Paulo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1987 | Müller (São Paulo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1988 | Nílson (Internacional) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1989 | Túlio (Goiás) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1990 | Charles (Bahia) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1991 | Paulinho McLaren (Santos) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1992 | Bebeto (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1993 | Guga (Santos) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1994 | Amoroso (Guarani) Túlio (Botafogo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1995 | Túlio (Botafogo) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1996 | Paulo Nunes (Grêmio) Renaldo (Atlético Mineiro) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1997 | Edmundo (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1998 | Viola (Santos) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 1999 | Guilherme (Atlético Mineiro) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2000 | Dill (Goiás) Magno Alves (Fluminense) Romário (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2001 | Romário (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2002 | Luís Fabiano (São Paulo) Rodrigo Fabri (Grêmio) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2003 | Dimba (Goiás) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2004 | Washington (Athletico Paranaense) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2005 | Romário (Vasco da Gama) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2006 | Souza (Goiás) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2007 | Josiel (Paraná) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2008 | Keirrison (Coritiba) Kléber Pereira (Santos) Washington (Fluminense) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2009 | Adriano (Flamengo) Diego Tardelli (Atlético Mineiro) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2010 | Jonas (Grêmio) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2011 | Borges (Santos) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Sócrates | |
| 2012 | Fred (Fluminense) | Bernard (Atlético Mineiro) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Neymar (Santos) (hors concours) | |
| 2013 | Éderson (Athletico Paranaense) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2014 | Fred (Fluminense) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| 2015 | Ricardo Oliveira (Santos) | Gabriel Barbosa (Santos) | Not awarded | Not awarded | Rogério Ceni (São Paulo) (Conjunto da Obra) | |
| 2016 | Diego Souza (Sport do Recife) Fred (Atlético Mineiro) William Pottker (Ponte Preta) | Not awarded | Camilo (Botafogo) | Cuca (Palmeiras) | 2016 Chapecoense Copa Sudamericana team Formiga (São José) | |
| 2017 | Jô (Corinthians) Henrique Dourado (Fluminense) | Not awarded |  Rómulo Otero (Atlético Mineiro) | Fábio Carille (Corinthians) | 1982 Brazil FIFA World Cup team Soledad Jaimes (Santos) | |
| 2018 | Gabriel Barbosa (Santos) | Not awarded | Wescley (Ceará) | Luiz Felipe Scolari (Palmeiras) | Pelé Marta (Bola de Ouro) | |
| 2019 | Gabriel Barbosa (Flamengo) | Michael (Goiás) |  Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Flamengo) |  Jorge Jesus (Flamengo) | Millene (Corinthians) | |
| 2020 | Claudinho (Red Bull Bragantino) Luciano (São Paulo) | Claudinho (Red Bull Bragantino) | Martín Benítez (Vasco da Gama) | Rogério Ceni (Flamengo) | Not awarded | |
| 2021 | Hulk (Atlético Mineiro) | Matías Zaracho (Atlético Mineiro) | Andreas Pereira (Flamengo) | Cuca (Atlético Mineiro) | Not awarded | |
| 2022 | Germán Cano (Fluminense) | Du Queiroz (Corinthians) | Róger Guedes (Corinthians) | Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras) | Not awarded | |
| 2023 | Paulinho (Atlético Mineiro) | Endrick (Palmeiras) | Endrick (Palmeiras) | Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras) | Not awarded | |
Foreign players awarded
Notes
- a 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
| Season | Player | Position | Nationality | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Bia Zaneratto | Forward | | Palmeiras |
| 2022 | Adriana | Forward | | Corinthians |
| 2023 | Aline Gomes | Forward | | Ferroviária |
Bola de Prata
| Season | Category | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | |
| 2021[11] | Luciana (Ferroviária) | Bruna Calderan (Palmeiras) Érika (Corinthians) Agustina Barroso (Palmeiras) Yasmim (Corinthians) | Andressinha (Corinthians) Carol Nogueira (São Paulo) Tamires (Corinthians) Vic Albuquerque (Corinthians) | Bia Zaneratto (Palmeiras) Gabi Nunes (Corinthians) |
| 2022[12] | Letícia Izidoro (Corinthians) | Fe Palermo (São Paulo) Andressa (Corinthians) Bruna Benites (Internacional) Tamires (Corinthians) | Diany (Corinthians) Julia Bianchi (Palmeiras) Gabi Zanotti (Corinthians) Duda Sampaio (Internacional) | Bia Zaneratto (Palmeiras) Adriana (Corinthians) |
| 2023[13] | Luciana (Ferroviária) | Katiuscia (Corinthians) Day Silva (Ferroviária) Luana (Ferroviária) Yasmim (Corinthians) | Luana Bertolucci (Corinthians) Brena (Santos) Duda Sampaio (Corinthians) Victória (Corinthians) | Aline Gomes (Ferroviária) Jheniffer (Corinthians) |
Most appearances
| Player | Apps | Years | Club(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bia Zaneratto | 2 | 2021, 2022 | Palmeiras |
| Tamires | 2021, 2022 | Corinthians | ||
| Luciana | 2021, 2023 | Ferroviária | ||
| Yasmim | 2021, 2023 | Corinthians | ||
| Victória | 2021, 2023 | Corinthians | ||
| Duda Sampaio | 2022, 2023 | Internacional, Corinthians |
Additional categories
| Season | Category | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Artilheira (Top Goalscorer) | A Revelação (Breakthrough Player) | Most Beautiful Goal Author | Best Coach | A Tribute to | ||
| 2021 | Bia Zaneratto (Palmeiras) | Bruninha (Santos) | Gabi Zanotti (Corinthians) | Arthur Elias (Corinthians) | Formiga | |
| 2022 | Cristiane (Santos) | Tarciane (Corinthians) | Patrícia Sochor (Palmeiras) | Arthur Elias (Corinthians) | Grazi (Corinthians) | |
| 2023 | Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras) | Vanessinha (Cruzeiro) | Aline Gomes (Ferroviária) | Arthur Elias (Corinthians) | — | |