FIFA WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
All national coaches are invited to vote for the World Player of the Year. They make their choices, first gets five points, second three points and third one point. It began in 1991 and is awarded in a gala presentation. The results in 2001 are:
| RANK | NAME | NATIONALITY | POINTS |
| 1 | Luis Figo | Portugal | 250 |
| 2 | David Beckham | England | 238 |
| 3 | Raul | Spain | 96 |
| 4 | Zinedine Zidane | France | 94 |
| 5 | Rivaldo | Brazil | 92 |
| 6 | Juan Sebastian Veron | Argentina | 71 |
| 7 | Oliver Kahn | Germany | 65 |
| 8 | Michael Owen | England | 61 |
| 9 | Andrii Shevchenko | Ukraine | 46 |
| 10 | Francesco Totti | Italy | 40 |
Luis Figo came close to winning in 2000 finishing second behind Zidane. This year he went one better and won the award after helping Portugal qualify for the World Cup and playing well for Real Madrid. Beckham and Raul also helped their countries through to the World Cup with impressive form. Previous winners of the award are:
| YEAR | NAME | NATIONALITY |
| 1991 | Lothar Matthaus | Germany |
| 1992 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy |
| 1994 | Romario | Brazil |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia |
| 1996 | Ronaldo | Brazil |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil |
| 2000 | Zinedine Zidane | France |
Click here to go to the 1999 FIFA World Player of the Year page
Click here to go to the 2000 FIFA World Player of the Year page
Click here to go back to the awards page