FIFA World Player of the Year
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The FIFA World Player of the Year is an Association football award given annually to the male and female player who are thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams. In a voting system based on a type of a Borda count, each coach gets three votes, worth five points, three points and one point, and the winners are ordered based on total number of points. The male award has been criticized for focusing mainly on players from the UEFA Champion's League and largely ignoring players from the just as talented, if not arguably more talented, South American Copa Libertadores, which has produced more world club champions than Europe. The international leagues of the remaining confederations are also completely ignored.
The award started in 1991 for men and 2001 for women. Since the award's inception, European-based Brazilian players have dominated the male awards, having won 8 out of 17 editions of the prize, including the most recent 2007, far ahead of the top second country France, which has won it 3 times.
The award's youngest winner, male or female, is Ronaldo, who won at the age of 20 in 1996. He won it again in 1997 and 2002. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Mia Hamm, Birgit Prinz, and Marta are the only players to have won twice in a row. Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Prinz are the only three-time winners. The oldest winner is Fabio Cannavaro who won in 2006 at age 33. The oldest female winner is Hamm, who won in 2002 at age 30, and the youngest female winner is Marta, who won in 2006 at age 20 (but was seven months older than was Ronaldo in 1996).
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[edit] Nomination and selection process
Following criticism from some sections of the media over questionable nominations in previous years, in 2004 FIFA drew up a shortlist of 35 men and 21 women from which national team managers and, for the first time, team captains and representatives from FIFPro (the worldwide representative organization for professional players) could vote.[1]
Another criticism brought up against the men's nominations is that no player in activity outside of Europe has ever been nominated for the award. Juan Román Riquelme is the only player nominated for the annual award who played for a team outside Europe within the year, on loan to Boca Juniors from Villarreal CF for the first half of 2007. Although players from several nationalities, of three continents, have been nominated and won the award, they were all playing for European clubs at the time of their nomination or victory, for which the European Footballer of the Year award is already been given out.
It has also been suggested that players active in the leagues of other top non-European nations (such as the Argentine, the Brazilian, or the Mexican Leagues), are generally overlooked for the award. Brazilian club teams have won the first three editions of the official FIFA club world championship, yet not one player from those teams was nominated for the men's world player of the year award. Whereas the European champions that the Brazilian club teams beat in the last two finals had more than a few players nominated for the award.
The selection process has also faced criticism for apparent bias towards players in the Spanish and Italian leagues, with over 73% of the top three winners coming from these leagues. As of 2007, no player outside of these leagues has won the accolade. Examples include the 2007 awards, where Lionel Messi was placed above Cristiano Ronaldo, despite having scored fewer goals, having fewer assists and having missed 3 months of the season (Ronaldo also finished above Messi in the European Footballer of the Year awards).Thierry Henry, who came 2nd in 2004, was also statistically better than winner Ronaldinho and played an influential role in Arsenal's unbeaten season.
The competition could also be accused of placing too much weight on World Cup and UEFA Champions League achievements. For example, Davor Šuker, who finished as top scorer at the 1998 World Cup, was relatively unprolific at club level. Ronaldo, who won the award in 2002, had played less than a dozen games for Inter Milan prior to the 2002 World Cup; although his performances were highly impressive. Prior to the 2006 World Cup, Fabio Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane were not considered to be in contention for the award.
By comparison, the women's winners are only from Swedish, German, or U.S. leagues. This may possibly be attributed to many women moving to these leagues due to the poor infrastructure of women's football in their home countries. Also, the players' nationalities are not are varied as the men's winners.
[edit] Winners
[edit] List of male winners
[edit] Players' all-time ranking by places (top 3)
| Player | First place | Second place | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zinedine Zidane |
3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 |  Ronaldo |
3 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Ronaldinho |
2 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 |  Luís Figo |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Romário |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 |  George Weah |
1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Rivaldo |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  Roberto Baggio |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Lothar Matthäus |
1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 |  Marco Van Basten |
1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Kaká |
1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Fabio Cannavaro |
1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 |  Hristo Stoitchkov |
0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 |  David Beckham |
0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Thierry Henry |
0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Jean-Pierre Papin |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Roberto Carlos da Silva |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Paolo Maldini |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Oliver Kahn |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Frank Lampard |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 |  Lionel Messi |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Dennis Bergkamp |
0 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Gabriel Batistuta |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Jürgen Klinsmann |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 |  Raúl González |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 |  Andriy Shevchenko |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Gary Lineker |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Thomas Häßler |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Alan Shearer |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 |  Davor Šuker |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 |  Samuel Eto'o |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
0 | 0 | 1 |
[edit] Wins by country
Table of winners categorised by the player's nationality (not the nationality of his club).
| Country | First place | Second place | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil |
8 (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007) | 3 (1993, 1997, 1998) | 3 (2000, 2003, 2006) |
| 2 | France |
3 (1998, 2000, 2003) | 4 (1991, 2003, 2004, 2006) | 2 (1997*, 2002) |
| 3 | Italy |
2 (1993, 2006) | 1 (1995) | 1 (1994) |
| 4 | Germany |
1 (1991) | 1 (2002) | 2 (1992, 1995) |
| 5 | Portugal |
1 (2001) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2007) |
| 6 | Liberia |
1 (1995) | 1 (1996) | 0 |
| 7 | Netherlands |
1 (1992) | 0 | 2 (1993, 1997*) |
| 8 | England |
0 | 3 (1999, 2001, 2005) | 2 (1991, 1996) |
| 9 | Bulgaria |
0 | 2 (1992, 1994) | 0 |
| 10 | Argentina |
0 | 1 (2007) | 1 (1999) |
| 11 | Croatia |
0 | 0 | 1 (1998) |
| 12 | Spain |
0 | 0 | 1 (2001) |
| 13 | Ukraine |
0 | 0 | 1 (2004) |
| 14 | Cameroon |
0 | 0 | 1 (2005) |
* There was a tie for that place
[edit] Wins by club
| Club | First place | Second place | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona |
6 (1994, 1996*, 1997*, 1999, 2004, 2005) | 5 (1992, 1993, 1994, 2000**, 2007) | 3 (2000, 2005, 2006) |
| 2 | Real Madrid |
4 (2001, 2002*, 2003, 2006*) | 3 (1997, 2000*, 2006***) | 4 (1998, 2001, 2002, 2003) |
| 3 | Juventus F.C. |
4 (1993, 1998, 2000, 2006**) | 0 | 2 (1994, 1997) |
| 4 | A.C. Milan |
3 (1992, 1995*, 2007) | 2 (1995, 1996) | 1 (2004) |
| 5 | F.C. Internazionale |
3 (1991, 1997*, 2002**) | 1 (1998) | 1 (1993*) |
| 6 | Paris Saint-Germain |
1 (1995**) | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | PSV Eindhoven |
1 (1996**) | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Arsenal |
0 | 2 (2003, 2004) | 1 (1997) |
| 9 | Manchester United |
0 | 2 (1999, 2001) | 1 (2007) |
| 10 | Bayern Munich |
0 | 1 (2002) | 1 (1995*) |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur |
0 | 0 | 2 (1991, 1995**) |
| 12 | Chelsea |
0 | 1 (2005) | 0 |
| 13 | Olympique Marseille |
0 | 1 (1991) | 0 |
| 14 | AC Fiorentina |
0 | 0 | 1 (1999) |
| 15 | Newcastle United |
0 | 0 | 1 (1996*) |
| 16 | Blackburn Rovers |
0 | 0 | 1 (1996**) |
| 17 | Ajax Amsterdam |
0 | 0 | 1 (1993**) |
| 18 | AS Roma |
0 | 0 | 1 (1992) |
*Player was a member of the club for the second half of the calendar year (The first part of a new season - August to December).
**Player was a member of the club for the first half of the calendar year (The second part of a finished season - January to May).
***Player retired half way through the calendar year so was a member of the club only for the first half of the calendar year (The second part of a finished season - January to May).
[edit] List of female winners
| Year | Place | Player | Nationality | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 Details |
1st | Marta | Brazil |
 Umeå IK |
| 2nd | Birgit Prinz | Germany |
1. FFC Frankfurt |
|
| 3rd | Cristiane | Brazil |
VfL Wolfsburg |
|
| 2006 Details |
1st | Marta | Brazil |
Umeå IK |
| 2nd | Kristine Lilly |  USA |
KIF Örebro DFF |
|
| 3rd | Renate Lingor | Germany |
1. FFC Frankfurt |
|
| 2005 Details |
1st | Birgit Prinz | Germany |
1. FFC Frankfurt |
| 2nd | Marta | Brazil |
Umeå IK |
|
| 3rd | Shannon Boxx | USA |
||
| 2004 Details |
1st | Birgit Prinz | Germany |
1. FFC Frankfurt |
| 2nd | Mia Hamm | USA |
W. Freedom retired |
|
| 3rd | Marta | Brazil |
Umeå IK |
|
| 2003 Details |
1st | Birgit Prinz | Germany |
1. FFC Frankfurt |
| 2nd | Mia Hamm | USA |
Washington Freedom |
|
| 3rd | Hanna Ljungberg | Sweden |
Umeå IK |
|
| 2002 Details |
1st | Mia Hamm | USA |
Washington Freedom |
| 2nd | Birgit Prinz | Germany |
1. FFC Frankfurt |
|
| 3rd | Sun Wen |  China PR |
Atlanta Beat |
|
| 2001 Details |
1st | Mia Hamm | USA |
Washington Freedom |
| 2nd | Tiffeny Milbrett | USA |
New York Power |
|
| 3rd | Sun Wen | China PR |
Atlanta Beat |
[edit] Players' all-time ranking by places (top 3)
| Player | First place | Second place | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birgit Prinz |
3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Mia Hamm |
2 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Marta |
2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Tiffeny Milbrett |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kristine Lilly |
0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 6 | Sun Wen |
0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Hanna Ljungberg |
0 | 0 | 1 |
| Shannon Boxx |
0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Renate Lingor |
0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Cristiane |
0 | 0 | 1 |
[edit] Wins by country
Table of winners categorised by the player's nationality (not the nationality of her club).
| Country | First place | Second place | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany |
3 (2003, 2004, 2005) | 2 (2002, 2007) | 1 (2006) |
| 2 | USA |
2 (2001, 2002) | 4 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006) | 1 (2005) |
| 3 | Brazil |
2 (2006, 2007) | 1 (2005) | 2 (2004, 2007) |
| 4 | China PR |
0 | 0 | 2 (2001, 2002) |
| 5 | Sweden |
0 | 0 | 1 (2003) |
[edit] Wins by club
| Club | First place | Second place | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. FFC Frankfurt |
3 (2003, 2004, 2005) | 2 (2002, 2007) | 1 (2006) |
| 2 | Umeå IK |
2 (2006, 2007) | 1 (2005) | 2 (2003, 2004) |
| 3 | Washington Freedom |
2 (2001, 2002) | 2 (2003, 2004) | 0 |
| 4 | KIF Örebro DFF |
0 | 1 (2006) | 0 |
| 5 | New York Power |
0 | 1 (2001) | 0 |
| 6 | Atlanta Beat |
0 | 0 | 2 (2001, 2002) |
| 7 | VfL Wolfsburg |
0 | 0 | 1 (2007) |
