On December 30, 1975, the world saw the New Year issue of France Football, in which the results of a voting to determine the best footballer in Europe were announced. In this landmark, 20th edition, an attacker from Kyiv's «Dynamo» and the SSR national team, Oleg Blokhin (122 points), emerged as the clear winner, outscoring world football stars such as German Franz Beckenbauer (42 points) and Dutchman Johan Cruyff (27 points).

That year, Dynamo Kyiv under Valeriy Lobanovskyi's leadership won the Cup Winners' Cup and became UEFA Super Cup champions by defeating the famous Munich «Bayern» twice. Oleg Blokhin became the first Ukrainian footballer to win the «Golden Ball.» Later, his success was repeated by Igor Belanov (named the best player in Europe in 1986) and Andriy Shevchenko (winner of the «Golden Ball» in 2004).