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The contenders Profiles of FIFA's player of the year finalists
Updated: Monday December 11, 2000 12:57 PM
By Simon Hooper, CNNSI.com Zinedine Zidane(Juventus and France)Born: June 23, 1972 in Marseilles, France Previous clubs: Cannes, Bordeaux (both France) Honors: World Cup 1998, European Championship 2000, Italian Championship 1997, 1998, FIFA World Player of the Year 1998, European Player of the Year 1998
Zidane was the beating heart of the all-conquering French team that added the European Championship title to its world crown in June. Two goals in the 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil were enough to earn him the 1998 Player of the Year Award, but his influence on France's latest success was greater still. "Zizou" dominated the French midfield with the sort of mesmerizing skills not seen since Michel Platini wore the blue No. 10 shirt. That he was universally hailed as the player of the tournament while only scoring two goals, an immaculate free kick against Spain in the quarterfinal and a nerveless extra time penalty to sink Portugal, bears testament to his greater creative influence as a playmaker. But Zidane's influence extends beyond the football pitch. As a son of Algerian immigrants from the tough projects of Marseilles, Zidane's achievements have made him an icon of French multiculturalism. At club level, Zidane has found success more elusive. He joined Juventus in 1996, too late to feature in the Turin club's successful Champions League campaign. Although Serie A titles followed in 1997 and 1998, both were marred by Champions League final defeats. Zidane suffered further disappointments this year, with Lazio snatching the title from Juventus on the final day of last season and an undignified early exit from this season's Champions League. That failure at least should have come too late to have affected the voting and his elegant performances for Les Bleus could earn him his second World Player of the Year award.
Rivaldo(Barcelona and Brazil)Born: April 19, 1972 in Recife, Brazil Previous clubs: Paulista, Santa Cruz, Mogi Mirim, Corinthians, Palmeiras (all Brazil), Deportivo La Coruna (Spain) Honors: Copa America 1999, Spanish Championship 1998, 1999, Spanish Cup 1997, 1998, Brazilian Championship 1994, FIFA Player of the Year 1999, European Player of the Year 1999
Rivaldo won last year's award after a dazzling season in which his goals fuelled Barcelona's first Spanish league and cup double in 39 years, and he inspired Brazil to the Copa America continental title. Deceptively bow-legged, Rivaldo's lazy style of play conceals the full Brazilian repertoire of tricks and flicks as well as a more conventional striker's appetite for goals. Yet while Rivaldo's talents remain undiminished, 2000 has not been of the same vintage as 1999. Rivaldo started the year on the sidelines at Barcelona after announcing he wanted to play in the center and not on the left, as then coach Louis Van Gaal preferred to deploy him. A pay dispute with the Catalan giants followed and by the time it was settled, Barcelona had surrendered its domestic titles and stumbled at the semifinal stage after a promising Champions League campaign. Neither will Rivaldo get a chance to make amends in this season's competition after Barca's elimination at the first group stage. Rivaldo has also come in for criticism during Brazil's misfiring World Cup qualifying campaign and even hinted at international retirement after being booed from the pitch during a recent close win over Colombia. Having never commanded the same respect in his native country as in Europe (his reputation has never fully recovered after he was cast as the scapegoat for Brazil's failure to win the 1996 Olympic title), Rivaldo's grip on the famous Brazilian No. 10 shirt, as well as the Player of the Year award, may be slipping. Luis Figo(Real Madrid and Portugal)Born: November 4, 1972 in Almada, Portugal Previous clubs: Barcelona (Spain), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) Honors: Spanish Championship 1998, 1999, Spanish Cup 1997, 1998, Portuguese Cup 1995
Luis Figo earns his first nomination largely as a result of his eye-catching displays for Portugal during its run to the semifinals of Euro 2000. Those performances, and several outstanding seasons for Barcelona, also convinced Real Madrid to make him the world's most expensive player when it paid Barca 37 million pounds in August. Figo is often described as an old-fashioned outside right midfielder, but he has a marauding instinct and is as likely to drift into the center or out to the left in search of space. This flexibility, coupled with Figo's ability to beat defenders, arguably gives him the edge over David Beckham as the world's preeminent right-sided player. At Barcelona, Figo almost uniquely survived and flourished under the regimes of Johan Cruyff, Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal, winning two Spanish championships and two Spanish Cups while Real Madrid has effectively rebuilt its Champions League-winning side around him. Euro 2000 was where a Portuguese team with a reputation for elaborately ineffective football finally found its cutting edge. Holding court in midfield, Figo was central to this transformation. His 25-meter drive that hauled Portugal back into their opening match against England ignited their tournament and demonstrated that Figo possesses the same charismatic ability as great players such as Pele or Maradona to lift his teammates. Unfortunately Portugal's campaign was marred by its bad-tempered conclusion, with a shirtless Figo storming off the pitch before Zinedine Zidane had even converted the extra-time penalty that sealed Portugal's elimination. But with World Soccer's Player of the Year award already won, Figo may yet get the better of his French rival.
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