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.
The awards were first given in 1973, but since the 1970 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa 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.
The award was not originally given from 1970 to 1972, but the following players had the best evaluation:
The 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.
Team: Picasso (BAH), Humberto Monteiro (CAM), Brito (CRU), Reyes (FLA), Everaldo (GRE), Zanata (FLA), Dirceu Lopes (CRU), Samarone (FLU), Vaguinho (CAM), Tostão (CRU) and Paulo Cézar Caju (BOT)