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Rivaldo reigns Barca's Brazilian wins FIFA player of year award
Posted: Monday January 24, 2000 04:07 PM
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Barcelona's Brazilian striker Rivaldo overwhelmingly won FIFA's world soccer player of 1999 award Monday, trouncing Manchester United's David Beckham and Fiorentina's Argentine marksman Gabriel Batistuta. The three were selected last month by 140 national team coaches from around the world. The final choice was made at a gala attended by world soccer legends in the Belgian capital. Rivaldo won with 543 points, compared to 194 for Beckham and 79 for Batistuta. "It is the best thing that has happened to my in my life as a player," Rivaldo said. After all the talk of a close race with Beckham, Rivaldo received 91 first-place votes from the 141 national team coaches voting in FIFA's annual poll. Beckham was chosen by 18 and Batistuta by five. Rivaldo's exploits for the Spanish reigning champions and in the canary yellow of Copa America winner Brazil were enough for him to replace Zinedine Zidane of France and Juventus, last year's winner. Former winners include Ronaldo and Romario of Brazil, George Weah of Liberia, Robert Baggio of Italy, Dutchman Marco van Basten and German Lothar Matthaeus. "Just to be here in this party is very moving," Rivaldo said. And just as he replaced Roaldo at FC Barcelona, he also replaced his injury-prone countryman as the biggest star in world soccer. With stardom also came controversy. Last month's spat with Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal triggered a surge of transfer rumors, focusing on a possible move to Itay's Lazio. Rivaldo insisted Monday he wants to stay at FC Barcelona until the end of his contract in 2003 and denied reports linking him to a possible transfer. "I've never had any contact with Lazio officials. What's been said in the press is false," Rivaldo told reporters. Any club hoping to lure Rivaldo away has been told they'd have to pay a world record transfer fee of 10 billion pesetas (US$70 million). "I'm very happy at Barcelona; it's a great club," Rivaldo said. As well as leading Barcelona to the second Spanish championship, Rivaldo fired Brazil to victory in the Copa America with a dazzling performance that climaxed with two goals in the final 3-0 victory over Uruguay. He topped that in September with a spectacular hat trick in a 4-2 win against Brazil's archrival, Argentina. Rivaldo's pace, tight control and lethal left foot have already won him the 1999 prestigious Golden Ball award as the best player in European soccer. He was voted player of the year by readers of World Soccer magazine with the biggest vote haul since Dutch striker Marco Van Basten won in 1988. Beckham spearheaded Manchester United's march to a unique treble of the European Champions' League, English Premiership and FA Cup. Pinpoint passing and explosive long-range goalscoring make Beckham an outstanding player. Doubts remain, however, about his temperament, and a thigh-high tackle that earned a red card this month in the World Club Championship didn't help. Batistuta has sparkled in Fiorentina's impressive Champions League run, scoring key goals to sink Arsenal and Manchester United. He has already hit nine goals in Italy's Serie A this season, but remains an outsider for Monday's award. Last year's winner, Zidane, struggled to recapture his form last year. Other past winners include Brazil's Ronaldo and Romario, Roberto Baggio of Italy and Liberia's George Weah.
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