Which of these captains, would you like to see lift the trophy on 11 July 2010?

Thirty-two national captains split this vote so thin that Iker Casillas won it with just 16.3% of ballots — barely one in six. Behind him, Ronaldo, Gerrard, Lucio, Mascherano and Lahm all cleared 8%, a five-way pileup bunched within two points of second place. Nobody approached a majority; this was a plurality win in a genuinely crowded field.

Casillas wasn't even ahead for most of the race. Gerrard held the lead for the first 23 days before the flip on day 24, and Casillas then built a 19-point cushion by day 30 that held to the finish. But the United States, the poll's single largest voting bloc, backed Gerrard the entire way — out of step with the field that ultimately decided it.

• Fragmented field · Winner took just 16.3% across 32 candidates
• 23-day flip · Gerrard led for 23 days before Casillas overtook him
• US holdout · Largest country bloc stuck with Gerrard, not the winner