01 / THE MAIN PRIZE
Ballon en Bois
The year's greatest gap between expectations and reality.
The 2026 edition · Independent satire
🏆
BALLON
EN BOIS
Excellence was expected. Disappointment delivered.
Explore the awardsThe honors nobody wants
2026 Award Categories
02
Golden Bench
The underperforming superstar.
03
Wooden Transfer
The most disappointing return on a major signing.
04
Broken Gloves
The most disappointing goalkeeper.
05
Tactical Disaster
The manager whose results fell furthest short.
06
Fallen Giant
The club that failed to meet expectations.
07
Broken Promise
The young talent whose season disappointed.
08
Wooden Boot
The striker who failed to deliver.
Across Europe
Six Leagues. One Wooden Crown.
🇬🇧 Premier League
🇪🇸 La Liga
🇮🇹 Serie A
🇩🇪 Bundesliga
🇫🇷 Ligue 1
🇵🇹 Primeira Liga
More than bad statistics
The Disappointment Index
40%
Performance vs. expectations
25%
Transfer fee and salary expectations
20%
Impact on team results
15%
Errors and inconsistency
These are proposed criteria, not verified rankings. Nominees and winners will be added after editorial review.
Your opinion counts
Suggest a Nominee
This launch preview lets you prepare a nomination email. Public voting and stored submissions will be enabled in a later release.