Golden Owen

Liverpool, England striker honored as Europe's best

Michael Owen is the first English player to win the Golden Ball award since 1979. Michael Steele/Allsport

PARIS (AP) -- Liverpool striker Michael Owen won France Football magazine's prestigious Golden Ball award on Monday, becoming the first English player to do so in more than a generation.

The fleet-footed striker collected 176 points in the annual survey of 51 European journalists to win the award for the best European-based player. Real Madrid striker Raul was second with 140 points and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was third with 114.

Owen played a key role in helping Liverpool win five trophies in six months last season, including the UEFA Cup, European Super Cup and domestic FA and League Cups. This season, he has scored 20 goals in 22 games for either Liverpool or England.

Liverpool currently leads the standings in the English Premier League.

Owen also recorded a hat trick in England's 5-1 thrashing against Germany -- with Kahn in goal -- in a World Cup qualifier in September in Munich. Owen, with 32 caps, has scored 14 goals for the national team.

Owen, 22, is the first English player to win the Golden Ball award since former England coach Kevin Keegan, who won it back-to-back in 1978 and 1979. Owen's England teammate, Manchester United midfielder David Beckham, was fourth in the voting, with 102 points.

The Golden Ball award was created in 1956. Last year's winner was Real Madrid's Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo, who on Monday was named FIFA's World Player of the Year.

More joy for Owen

LONDON -- Michael Owen joined an elite, exclusive band of Englishmen to win the continent's highest individual honor by being named European Footballer of the Year on Monday.

He also becomes the first Englishman to win it since 1979 when Kevin Keegan won the award for the second successive year, and the first to do so while playing for an English club since George Best won it playing for Manchester United in 1968.

Ironically, of course, Best was a Northern Ireland international, but never played for his country in either the European Championship or World Cup finals.

Owen has already done both.

One of the reasons Owen won this award was because of his astonishing hat trick against Germany when England beat their old rivals 5-1 in Munich in September to all-but-clinch their place in next year's finals.

Owen of course made his mark in the 1998 World Cup with a glittering goal against Argentina, and in the three-and-a-half years since then has gone on to fulfill all his early potential.

The only other English winners of this award were Stanley Matthews, the first winner, in 1956, Bobby Chalrton in 1966, and Keegan in 1978 and 1979 while he was with Hamburg SV.

Birthday joy

This latest landmark for Owen comes just three days after his 22nd birthday on Friday.

Even by his own precocious standards, it has been a remarkable 12 months for the nimble-footed prodigy who is tipped to become England's most prolific striker of all time.

Winners' medals in the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup for Liverpool, and qualification for his second World Cup with England, tell only half of the story.

In fact, the year started badly for Owen.

Dogged for weeks over the winter by a series of injuries and poor form, he sat mournfully on the substitutes' bench in the League Cup final against Birmingham City in February.

Manager Gerard Houllier declined even to use England's number one striker as a substitute in extra time, and Owen watched from the sidelines as an unimpressive Liverpool triumphed in a penalty shootout against their division one opponents.

May's FA Cup final against Arsenal was very different. Owen started the match and, after a quiet game, scored two poacher's goals in the final seven minutes to transform a 1-0 deficit into a glorious 2-1 triumph.

But the year 2001 will be remembered by England fans for one game in which Owen was again the central figure -- the win over Germany when he struck the most famous England hat trick since Geoff Hurst's unique treble in the 1966 World Cup final.

Devastating finish

The victory turned England's qualifying group on its head and assured their striker of a permanent place in his country's soccer folklore.

Except that Owen, who has achieved more in the first four years of his career than most players do in a lifetime, already had one.

Owen's third goal in Munich, when he drifted clear of the defense and arrowed the ball high into the German net was reminiscent of an even better effort which launched his career at the 1998 World Cup.

Argentina were the opponents in the French town of St Etienne when England's fledgling striker set off on a slalom run through their defense which culminated in a devastating finish into the top left-hand corner of the net.

It ranked as the best individual goal scored by an England player for a decade and was the perfect example of his two greatest qualities -- eye-watering pace and ruthless finishing.

By then the 18-year-old had already established himself with Liverpool, for whom he made a goalscoring debut against Wimbledon a year earlier.

Hamstring worry

As an 11-year-old schoolboy Owen once scored 79 goals in a single season.

It is taking him slightly longer to reach the century mark for Liverpool, with his long-range effort against Middlesbrough on December 8, his 99th in 180 games spread over four-and-a-half seasons at Anfield.

After that game assistant manager Phil Thompson hailed the completeness of Liverpool's one-man goal machine.

"He scores all kinds of different goals," said Thompson. "He scored a header against United recently, a sniffer's goal against Derby and now a long range strike against Middlesbrough.

"He deserves all the credit which comes his way because the boy is on fire right now."

Owen's goals per game ratio is only marginally less impressive at international level -- 14 from 32 appearances -- and the odds on him breaking Bobby Charlton's all-time record of 49 goals are narrowing all the time.

All this has been achieved despite the fact that he was sidelined for a large chunk of 1999 by persistent hamstring trouble.

The fear of a recurrence -- and there have been several false alarms already this season -- is the only cloud on Owen's horizon as 2002 dawns.

Liverpool are heading the chase for the premier league title and contesting the second phase of the Champions League, not to mention the FA Cup. Then there is England's World Cup campaign in Japan in June, with Argentina again on the menu.

At the ripe old age of 22, Owen's club and country are once again depending on him.

Related information
Stories
Zidane named FIFA world player of the year Figo says Golden Ball is result of 'job well done' Figo welcomes Zidane signing for centenary year Eleven French nominees in Golden Ball pot Valdano: Owen is Raul's only Golden Ball rival Liverpool sweeps World Soccer awards Figo named FIFA World Player of the Year
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.