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Double the joy Tottenham's Ginola named Footballer of the Year
Posted: Thursday May 06, 1999 09:58 AM
LONDON (AP) -- Tottenham's French star David Ginola, left off France's World-Cup winning side a year ago, on Thursday picked up his second player of the year award this season in England's Premier League. Ginola was named Footballer of the Year Thursday by the Football Writers' Association. The award comes less than two weeks after he was voted player of the year by the Professional Footballers' Association. Ginola was voted ahead of Manchester United stars Dwight York and David Beckham, who finished second and third, respectively. It was also the fifth straight year the award went to a non-British player: Eric Cantona (1995), Jurgen Klinsmann (1996), Gianfranco Zola (1997), and Dennis Bergkamp (1998). Bergkamp also won both awards last season. "I am absolutely thrilled," said Ginola, who is widely popular in Britain for his good looks and heavily accented English. "This is a great honor not only for me, but also for Tottenham Hotspur." The French star, left off France's winning World Cup side, helped Tottenham to its League Cup victory and a place in next season's UEFA Cup. He also helped Spurs to the F.A. Cup semifinals. "I'm also very surprised because I don't play in a team like Manchester United or Arsenal or Chelsea, who are fighting for the title. It's just amazing," Ginola added. Ginola was one of the players believed to be in jeopardy when George Graham took over the club this season. Instead, he has flourished under the tough Scot. "Nothing changed," he said. "I just carried on working." "I'm the same player. I like giving my best all the time. I play for the club and for the fans and I get something in return." Ginola said the award helped make up for his surprising absence from the French national side. "It was a big disappointment obviously but at the end of the day there's nothing I can do about that," he said. "I haven't played for my country for three years now and I'm just keen to do the best I can for my club."
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