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Ronaldinho named World Player of the Year again
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-12-20 09:00
"Awards never are a bore," said Prinz, who has 90 goals in 143 international
games for Germany.
Ronaldinho of
Brazil (R) and Frank lampard of England wait for their trophy during the
FIFA World Player 2005 awards ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, December
19, 2005. [Reuters] | Mia Hamm, who retired from
professional soccer last year, finished runner-up to Prinz in 2003 and 2004
after winning the award the two previous years.
Brazil named team of year
ZURICH, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Brazil were named team of the year by soccer's
governing body FIFA at its annual gala on Monday after the world champions
finished 44 points clear of their nearest rivals in the rankings.
The Confederations Cup champions accrued 840 points in 2005, having started
the year as world number one and recorded 10 wins, four draws and two defeats.
The Czech Republic were second, improving on their ranking in 2004 by two
places, FIFA said in a statement.
Ghana won the race for the best mover title, beating Ethiopia and Togo.
In an eventful year, the African side qualified for the World Cup finals, to
be held in Germany from June 9, for the first time.
Ghana are ranked 50 among the world's teams at the end of year, up from 77th
at the end of 2004.
FIFA said 743 matches were contested during 2005, with almost half played as
part of preparations for next year's World Cup.
Winners of World Player of the Year award since 1991
Following are the winners of FIFA's World Player of the Year award since its
introduction:
1991 - Lothar Matthaeus (Germany) Inter Milan
1992 - Marco van Basten (Netherlands) AC Milan
1993 - Roberto Baggio (Italy) Juventus
1994 - Romario (Brazil) Barcelona
1995 - George Weah (Liberia) AC Milan
1996 - Ronaldo (Brazil) Barcelona
1997 - Ronaldo Inter Milan
1998 - Zinedine Zidane (France) Juventus
1999 - Rivaldo (Brazil) Barcelona
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