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Conflicting results as Zidane battles Nedved for best player
London, Dec 24: So, who really is the best soccer player in the world? The coaches, fans and media can`t make up their minds.
London, Dec 24: So, who really is the best soccer player in the world? The coaches, fans and media can't make up their minds.
Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane was a runaway winner of Fifa's poll of top coaches for the World Player of the Year award.
Pavel Nedved of Juventus was the choice of 52 journalists in France Football magazine's European Player of the Year on Monday _ with Zidane back in fifth place.
Another respected magazine, World Soccer, polled its readers. They picked Nedved at the top, with Zidane not even in the top 10.
Shut out of the awards was Arsenal's Thierry Henry, who was runner-up in both the Fifa and France Football polls and fifth in World Soccer's.
The voting figures make it even more confusing. Zidane collected 264 points in the Fifa poll, with second-place Henry well behind on 186. Nedved was fourth.
In the France Football voting, Nedved had 190 points, ahead of Henry's 128. In the World Soccer poll, the Czech star collected 35.9 percent of the votes, well ahead of Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who had 9.5 percent.
Nedved was surprised to receive the France Football award ahead of Zidane, Henry and AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who placed third.
"I did not think I would beat Thierry Henry, Paolo Maldini or Zinedine Zidane and, if I had voted, I would have voted for thierry and for the other players on the podium," he said.
Bureau Report
Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane was a runaway winner of Fifa's poll of top coaches for the World Player of the Year award.
Pavel Nedved of Juventus was the choice of 52 journalists in France Football magazine's European Player of the Year on Monday _ with Zidane back in fifth place.
Another respected magazine, World Soccer, polled its readers. They picked Nedved at the top, with Zidane not even in the top 10.
Shut out of the awards was Arsenal's Thierry Henry, who was runner-up in both the Fifa and France Football polls and fifth in World Soccer's.
The voting figures make it even more confusing. Zidane collected 264 points in the Fifa poll, with second-place Henry well behind on 186. Nedved was fourth.
In the France Football voting, Nedved had 190 points, ahead of Henry's 128. In the World Soccer poll, the Czech star collected 35.9 percent of the votes, well ahead of Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who had 9.5 percent.
Nedved was surprised to receive the France Football award ahead of Zidane, Henry and AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who placed third.
"I did not think I would beat Thierry Henry, Paolo Maldini or Zinedine Zidane and, if I had voted, I would have voted for thierry and for the other players on the podium," he said.
Bureau Report