European Player of the Year. Michel Platini (Juventus and France) was voted number 1 with 127 points, followed by Preben Elkjaer-Larsen (Verona and Denmark) and Bernd Schuster (Barcelona and West Germany). No new name at the top – Elkjar-Larsen was among the best three for a second time, climbing from third to second, and Schuster appeared for a third time (once second and twice third).
Speaking of Platini is futile – plain numbers should do: he was already 5 times among the top 3 in Europe, matched the record of Cruijff – three times voted player of the year, but bested the Dutchman by having been voted best in three consecutive years. He was the first in that in the whole history of the award. It was fair vote too – Platini failed with Juventus in the Italian championship, but won the European Champions Cup, scored the only goal of the ill-fated final of the tournament, and led France to the World Cup finals in 1986. Elkjaer-Larsen and Schuster did not achieve similar success.
