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Cannavaro finalist for FIFA award

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 | 12:54 PM ET

CBC Sports

Fabio Cannavaro, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho were named finalists for FIFA's World Player of the Year award, soccer's world governing body announced Tuesday.

Thirty players were originally nominated and Cannavaro, Zidane and Ronaldinho made the shortlist in voting by coaches and captains of national teams from around the world.

Fabio Cannavaro, a defender with Real Madrid and captain of Italy's World Cup winning team, won this year's Ballon d'Or.
(Francois Mori/Associated Press)

Brazil's Marta, runner-up to 2005 winner Birgit Prinz of Germany, is among the women's finalists again this year. U.S. captain Kristine Lilly and Renate Lingor of Germany are the other nominees.

Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, B.C., was one of the 20 women initially nominated.

Cannavaro, a defender with Real Madrid and captain of Italy's World Cup winning team, is the odds on favourite to win the FIFA honour after claiming the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) award on Monday as European player of the year.

Cannavaro played in the top Italian league last season, leading powerhouse Juventus to a second straight Serie A title. But he left for Spain earlier in 2006, after the Turin-based club was stripped of its title and demoted to Serie B amid allegations of match-fixing.

Cannavaro would become the first defender to win the FIFA award and he would join Roberto Baggio (1993) as the only Italians to claim the honour.

FIFA first handed out the award in 1991.

Zidane is a three-time winner (1998, 2000 and 2003) and made worldwide headlines when he head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest during this year's World Cup final.

Zidane, who was expelled from the game that the French lost in a penalty shootout, played with Real Madrid last season but has since retired from soccer.

Ronaldinho is the reigning two-time FIFA player of the year. Last season, he led Barcelona to a second straight Spanish league title and the club's first Champions League crown since 1992.

A lacklustre performance at the World Cup, where Brazil was eliminated in the quarter-finals by France, could hurt Ronaldinho's chances of lifting the trophy for a third straight year.

This year's winner will be revealed in Zurich on Dec. 18.

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Internal Links

Cannavaro wins Ballon d'Or
Cannavaro deserves the Ballon d’Or
Newsmaker: Fabio Cannavaro
Italy wins World Cup

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