By Skip Bandele
TOP PRIZES: Henry snubbed
ARSENAL STRIKER, Thierry Henry, unsuccessfully appeared on the shortlist for the European Footballer of the Year award and was omitted altogether for Fifa’s world equivalent.
The Frenchman was the only player to feature in both the Champions League and World Cup finals last season, but has been ignored. Instead, Fabio Cannavaro beat his Italy team-mate Gianluigi Buffon to scoop the top European prize, becoming the first Italian winner since Roberto Baggio in 1993 in the process. The only other Premiership players to feature in the top10 were Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Arsenal’s German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
The three candidates for the Fifa World Player of the Year award are Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and Cannavaro again. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner next month.
Among the women, Brazil’s Marta, Germany’s Renate Lingor and the probable winner, US captain Kristine Lilly, have made the shortlist.
