SOUTH AMERICAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
This award begun in 1971.From 1971 to 1985 it was awarded by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo. From 1986 onwards it has been awarded by the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais. It is open only to South American players of South American clubs. The results in 2000 are:
| RANK | NAME | NATIONALITY |
VOTES |
| 1 | Romario | Brazil | 67 |
| 2 | Juan Roman Riquelme | Argentina | 64 |
| 3 | Oscar Cordoba | Colombia | 53 |
| Martin Palermo | Argentina | 53 | |
| 5 | Pablo Aimar | Argentina | 38 |
| Mauricio Serna | Colombia | 38 | |
| 7 | Juan Pablo Sorin | Argentina | 37 |
| 8 | Francisco Arce | Paraguay | 36 |
| Jorge Bermudez | Colombia | 36 | |
| 10 | Carlos Gamarra | Paraguay | 32 |
Romario won the award for his goalscoring exploits with both Vasco da Gama and Brazil. Juan Roman Riquelme also impressed helping Boca Juniors win the Copa Libertadores and Toyota Cup. Previous winners of the award are:
| YEAR | NAME | NATIONALITY |
| 1971 | Tostao | Brazil |
| 1972 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru |
| 1973 | Pele | Brazil |
| 1974 | Elias Figueroa | Chile |
| 1975 | Elias Figueroa | Chile |
| 1976 | Elias Figueroa | Chile |
| 1977 | Zico | Brazil |
| 1978 | Mario Kempes | Argentina |
| 1979 | Diego Maradona | Argentina |
| 1980 | Diego Maradona | Argentina |
| 1981 | Zico | Brazil |
| 1982 | Zico | Brazil |
| 1983 | Socrates | Brazil |
| 1984 | Enzo Francescoli | Uruguay |
| 1985 | Julio Cesar Romero | Paraguay |
| 1986 | Antonio Alzamendi | Uruguay |
| 1987 | Carlos Valderrama | Colombia |
| 1988 | Ruben Paz | Uruguay |
| 1989 | Bebeto | Brazil |
| 1990 | Raul Amarilla | Paraguay |
| 1991 | Oscar Ruggeri | Argentina |
| 1992 | Rai | Brazil |
| 1993 | Carlos Valderrama | Colombia |
| 1994 | Cafu | Brazil |
| 1995 | Enzo Francescoli | Uruguay |
| 1996 | Jose Luis Chilavert | Paraguay |
| 1997 | Marcelo Salas | Chile |
| 1998 | Martin Palermo | Argentina |
| 1999 | Javier Saviola | Argentina |
Click here to go to the 1999 South American Player of the Year
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