The 2003 Ballon d'Or (), given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to the Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd on 22 December 2003.
Nedvěd was the second Czech player to win the award after Josef Masopust (1962). Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) was the top ranked goalkeeper in the list, in ninth place. Paolo Maldini (Italy) was the best ranked defender in third place, while Thierry Henry (France) was the top forward, in second place.
Rankings On 11 November 2003, the shortlist of 50 male players compiled by a group of experts from France Football was announced.
There were 52 voters, from Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales and Yugoslavia. Each picked a first (5pts), second (4pts), third (3pts), fourth (2pts) and fifth choice (1pt). Voted players Rank Player Nationality Club(s) Total Votes by place Votes 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th1stPavel Nedvěd Juventus190279261452ndThierry Henry Arsenal128891442373rdPaolo Maldini Milan123713747384thAndriy Shevchenko Milan6738343215thZinedine Zidane Real Madrid6441597266thRuud van Nistelrooy Manchester United61145113247thRaúl Real Madrid3212415138thRoberto Carlos Real Madrid27133 -189thGianluigi Buffon Juventus19 -1233910thDavid Beckham Manchester United Real Madrid17 -2122711thRonaldo Real Madrid11 - -124712thHenrik Larsson Celtic6 - -2 - -213thAlessandro Del Piero Juventus4 - -1 -12Dida Milan4 - -1 -12Roy Makaay Deportivo La Coruña Bayern Munich4 - -1 -12Alessandro Nesta Milan4 - - -2 -2Deco Porto4 - - - -4418thNihat Kahveci Real Sociedad3 - - -112Francesco Totti Roma3 - - -11220thMichael Ballack Bayern Munich2 - - -1 -1Zlatan Ibrahimović Ajax2 - - -1 -122ndFilippo Inzaghi Milan1 - - - -11Jan Koller Borussia Dortmund1 - - - -11Adrian Mutu Parma Chelsea1 - - - -11Ronaldinho Paris Saint-Germain Barcelona1 - - - -11Francesco Toldo Internazionale1 - - - -11
Non-voted players The following 24 men were originally in contention for the 2003 Ballon d’Or, but did not receive any votes: Player Nationality Club(s)Pablo Aimar ValenciaSol Campbell ArsenalIker Casillas Real MadridCristian Chivu Ajax RomaSamuel Eto'o MallorcaLuís Figo Real MadridGiovane Élber Bayern Munich LyonLudovic Giuly MonacoOliver Kahn Bayern MunichPatrick Kluivert BarcelonaDarko Kovačević Real SociedadClaude Makélélé Real Madrid ChelseaMichael Owen LiverpoolPauleta Bordeaux Paris Saint-GermainRobert Pires ArsenalMíchel Salgado Real MadridPaul Scholes Manchester UnitedLilian Thuram JuventusHatem Trabelsi AjaxDavid Trezeguet JuventusPatrick Vieira ArsenalChristian Vieri InternazionaleSylvain Wiltord ArsenalGianluca Zambrotta Juventus
References
External links France Football Official website Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation - "Ballon d'Or" 2003 voting results