EUROPEAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR
This award begun in 1956 by France Football magazine. Before 1995 only European players playing in Europe were eligible but since then non-European players have also been declared eligible. The results in 2001 are:
| RANK | NAME | NATIONALITY |
VOTES |
| 1 | Michael Owen | England | 176 |
| 2 | Raul | Spain | 140 |
| 3 | Oliver Kahn | Germany | 114 |
| 4 | David Beckham | England | 102 |
| 5 | Francesco Totti | Italy | 57 |
| 6 | Luis Figo | Portugal | 56 |
| 7 | Rivaldo | Brazil | 20 |
| 8 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | 18 |
| 9 | Thierry Henry | France | 14 |
| Zinedine Zidane | France | 14 |
Michael Owen won the award after helping Liverpool to a cup treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001. He also scored key goals to help England qualify for the World Cup. Raul starred for both Spain and Real Madrid in 2001 whilst Oliver Kahn was a key player in Bayern Munich winning the German league and the European Champion's League. Previous winners of the award are:
| YEAR | NAME | NATIONALITY |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | England |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Spain |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | France |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Spain |
| 1960 | Luis Suarez | Spain |
| 1961 | Omar Sivori | Italy |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | USSR |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Scotland |
| 1965 | Eusebio | Portugal |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | England |
| 1967 | Florian Albert | Hungary |
| 1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy |
| 1970 | Gerd Muller | Germany |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | Holland |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | Holland |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | Holland |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhim | USSR |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | England |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | England |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Germany |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Germany |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | France |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | France |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | France |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | USSR |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | Holland |
| 1988 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1989 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthaus | Germany |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France |
| 1992 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil |
| 2000 | Luis Figo | Portugal |
Click here to go to the 1999 European Footballer of the Year
Click here to go to the 2000 European Footballer of the Year
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