In December 2001, Michael Owen became the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or in 22 years, since Kevin Keegan secured the prestigious accolade in consecutive years, in 1978 and 1979.
For Owen, it capped off a remarkable run of success at Liverpool, having won five trophies in the calendar year and all within a few months.
In the 2000/01 season, the Reds secured a unique treble, winning the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup, known today as the Europa League.
That was followed by a Charity Shield win and a UEFA Super Cup success with Owen front and centre in a trophy-laden spell for the Reds.
It culminated for him with the individual European award, but it is not quite the same Ballon d'Or that we know today, having been the subject of a relentless battle between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years.
Ballon d'Or Background
The original Ballon d'Or, from 1956 to 2009, was organised by the renowned France Football magazine and awarded to the European Footballer of the Year.
Only European players representing European clubs were eligible to receive the prize, meaning that superstars like Pele and Diego Maradona were not invited to the proverbial party.
That changed in 1995, when AC Milan’s George Weah, a Liberian and the current President of the African nation, became the first non-European recipient, although he was recognised for his exploits in Italy.
Then in 2010, the Ballon d’Or was merged with the World Player of the Year award to adopt official patronage and became the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
This move created a de facto undisputed trophy for the best player in the world.
Michael Owen's rise
Owen was born in Chester, on 14 December 1979. He rapidly progressed through the ranks of Liverpool’s youth academy to make his first-team debut at the tender age of just 17.
He scored on his Premier League debut in May 1997 in a 2-1 defeat for the Reds against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. From that moment, he never looked back and would go on to have a stellar career for club and country, including spells at Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City.
Owen was capped 89 times and scored 40 goals for the Three Lions, putting him in sixth place among England's all-time top scorers, behind Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker, and Jimmy Greaves.
Amongst his many notable moments for England, Owen scored a beautiful goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, his true breakthrough moment and secured a hat-trick against Germany in Munich, in qualification for the 2002 World Cup.
How Owen secured the Ballon d'Or
In his first full season for Liverpool in the Premier League, the diminutive striker finished as joint-top scorer with 18 goals. He was the Anfield side’s top goal-scorer from 1997 to 2004, despite a recurring hamstring issue which prevented him from hitting even greater heights.
In the 2000/01 season, under Gerard Houllier, Liverpool came third in the Premier League, behind Manchester United and Arsenal, but the other domestic cups went to Anfield.
25 February 2001 – Liverpool win the League (EFL) Cup
The first to be secured was the League Cup. Owen was an unused substitute in a victory on penalties over Birmingham City but scored en route to the final with an extra-time strike against Fulham at the quarter-final stage.
This game was the first domestic cup final to be held outside of England. Wembley Stadium had closed to be rebuilt, so the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was the stage for Liverpool to win their first trophy in six years.
12 May 2001 – Liverpool win the FA Cup
Owen may have gone unused in the League Cup final, but he more than made his mark in the FA Cup final three months later, with a brace against Arsenal.
Freddie Ljungberg had put the favourites a goal up in the 72nd minute, but Owen hit back in the 83rd. Just five minutes later, with extra time looming, Owen would outpace the ageing Lee Dixon and Tony Adams to complete the Reds' comeback.
16 May 2001 – Liverpool win the UEFA Cup
Owen and Liverpool could not rest on their laurels after FA Cup victory, however, as they faced Spanish side Alaves in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final.
The Reds had already defeated Barcelona in the semi-finals, as well as Porto and Roma earlier in the competition. Owen netted a stunning brace at the Stadio Olimpico to dump the Italians out.
Owen did not score himself in a 5-4 thriller that saw Liverpool win with a golden goal, but did turn provider, assisting Steven Gerrard, and won a penalty too.
12 August 2001 – Liverpool win the Community Shield
The trophies kept on coming at the start of the following season, with a 2-1 Charity Shield win over Manchester United.
Owen made his mark again at the Millennium Stadium, scoring what turned out to be the winner in the 16th minute.
24 August 2001 – Liverpool win the UEFA Super Cup
He repeated the same feat in the 2001 UEFA Super Cup final, winning 3-2 over a star-studded Bayern Munich that had just won the Champions League.
Owen's all-around performance was superb, and he also created John Arne Riise's goal. The striker won the Man of the Match award and added a fresh layer of gloss to Liverpool's unconventional treble the season before.
1 September 2001 – Germany 1, England 5
He saved his best performance of a vintage year for the white of England though.
Owen bagged a hat-trick against overwhelming favourites Germany, as the Three Lions took control of their qualifying group with what arguably remains their greatest individual result of the century so far.
18 December 2001 – Owen wins the Ballon d'Or
The glory run reached its climax in December, when the Liverpool striker was awarded the Ballon d’Or to mark his significant form in the Premier League, in Europe, and for England.
He topped the poll ahead of Raul, Oliver Kahn, David Beckham, Francesco Totti, Luis Figo, Rivaldo, Andriy Shevchenko, Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane to emphasise just how highly he was rated and the level that he reached that season.
