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Rivaldo is European Footballer of the Year

Barcelona's Brazilian forward Rivaldo was voted European Footballer of the Year yesterday.

The 27-year-old, who helped Barcelona to their second successive Spanish League title, scoring 24 goals, and was instrumental in Brazil's Copa America Cup triumph, polled 219 votes, far more than second placed Manchester United's David Beckham's 154, to become only the second Brazilian after Ronaldo to receive the coveted award.

AC Milan's Ukrainian striker Andrei Shevchenko was third in the voting ahead of Fiorentina's Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta and Barcelona's Luis Figo. Manchester United captain Roy Keane was sixth while Christian Vieri, Sebastian Veron, Raul and Lothar Matthaeus completed the top ten.

Rivaldo, born Vito Barbosa Ferreira, dedicated the award to his father who died in a road accident when he was 16.

"He was my first real coach and turned me into a footballer and ensured I remained one," declared the Brazilian after receiving the Golden Ball.

Rivaldo moved to Spain in 1996 after helping Palmeiras to the Brazilian championship in 1994 and 1996. He played for Deportivo La Coruna before joining Barcelona for $26.7 million in 1997 and helping the Catalan giants to the League and Cup double the following year. At France '98, he was Brazil's main playmaker and figured all the seven matches Brazil played.

Rivaldo, who wears the number 11 shirt at Barcelona, is the fourth player from that club to win the accolade. Luis Suarez was the first member of the Catalan soccer giants to win the Golden Ball in 1960, the fifth year of its existence. There was then a 13-year wait until Johan Cruyff won it in 1973 and 1974 and it was under Cruyff's tutelage, when the Dutch legend was the Barcelona coach, that Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov won in 1994.

Agencies