This vote has been organized since 1992 among the readers of the rec.sport.soccer newsgroup, by Kent Hedlundh, Umeå, Sweden.
It was held every year in the month of January, from 1993 to 2003. Starting from 2004, it is being held in February.
The rules for the vote are similar to those of the France Football award; in particular, each voter choses 5 players, at most 2 of the same nationality, in order; these obtain 5 to 1 points. (The nationality restriction was dropped for the 2003 vote, in which voting was restricted to 173 pre-selected players.)
Year winner club country 1992 Marco van Basten Milan AC Netherlands 1993 Roberto Baggio Juventus FC Italy 1994 Romario CR Flamengo Brazil 1995 George Weah Milan AC Liberia 1996 Ronaldo FC Barcelona Brazil 1997 Ronaldo FC Internazionale Brazil 1998 Zinedine Zidane Juventus FC France 1999 Rivaldo FC Barcelona Brazil 2000 Luis Figo Real Madrid CF Portugal 2001 Michael Owen Liverpool FC England 2002 Ronaldo Real Madrid CF Brazil 2003 Pavel Nedved Juventus FC Czech Republic 2004 Ronaldinho FC Barcelona Brazil 2005 Ronaldinho FC Barcelona Brazil
1992 (59 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Marco van Basten 207 3.51 2.Hristo Stoitchkov 87 1.47 3.Peter Schmeichel 62 1.05 4.Brian Laudrup 52 0.88 5.Raí 46 0.78 6.Frank Rijkaard 39 0.66 7.Dennis Bergkamp 36 0.61 8.Jean-Pierre Papin 30 0.51 9.Bebeto 25 0.42 Thomas Hässler 25 0.42 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1993 (149 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Roberto Baggio 407 2.73 2.Romário 295 1.98 3.Dennis Bergkamp 178 1.19 4.Ruud Gullit 105 0.70 5.Eric Cantona 94 0.63 6.Faustino Asprilla 80 0.54 7.Bebeto 73 0.49 8.Ryan Giggs 58 0.39 Michael Laudrup 58 0.39 10.Carlos Valderrama 38 0.26 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1994 (99 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Romário 269 2.72 2.Hristo Stoitchkov 254 2.57 3.Paolo Maldini 158 1.60 4.Gheorghe Hagi 131 1.32 5.Roberto Baggio 101 1.02 6.Jürgen Klinsmann 73 0.74 7.Gabriel Batistuta 54 0.55 8.Michel Preud'homme 27 0.27 9.Bebeto 26 0.26 10.Alan Shearer 23 0.23 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1995 (76 votes)
player pts ppv 1.George Weah 153 2.01 2.Paolo Maldini 102 1.34 3.Patrick Kluivert 88 1.16 4.Jürgen Klinsmann 86 1.13 5.Alessandro Del Piero 75 0.99 6.Jari Litmanen 51 0.67 7.Gianluca Vialli 32 0.42 8.Alan Shearer 29 0.38 9.Zinedine Zidane 23 0.30 10.Gabriel Batistuta 21 0.28 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1996 (139 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Ronaldo 348 2.50 2.Alan Shearer 241 1.73 3.Matthias Sammer 215 1.55 4.George Weah 116 0.83 5.Eric Cantona 114 0.82 6.Jürgen Klinsmann 93 0.67 7.Davor Suker 87 0.63 8.Alessandro Del Piero 73 0.53 9.Youri Djorkaeff 70 0.50 10.Gabriel Batistuta 56 0.40 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1997 (90 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Ronaldo 276 3.07 2.Zinedine Zidane 129 1.43 3.Gabriel Batistuta 75 0.83 4.Dennis Bergkamp 68 0.76 5.Roberto Carlos 51 0.57 6.Predrag Mijatovic 50 0.56 7.Alessandro Del Piero 46 0.51 8.Marcelo Salas 38 0.42 9.Raúl 34 0.38 10.Peter Schmeichel 32 0.36 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1998 (125 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Zinedine Zidane 335 2.68 2.Gabriel Batistuta 175 1.40 3.Lilian Thuram 136 1.09 4.Emmanuel Petit 122 0.98 5.Davor Suker 108 0.86 6.Michael Owen 84 0.67 7.Ronaldo 83 0.66 8.Dennis Bergkamp 80 0.64 9.Edgar Davids 79 0.63 10.Rivaldo 76 0.61 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
1999 (174 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Rivaldo 536 3.08 2.David Beckham 313 1.80 3.Andriy Shevchenko 186 1.07 4.Gabriel Batistuta 158 0.91 5.Juan Sebastián Verón 109 0.63 6.Luís Figo 105 0.60 7.Roy Keane 97 0.56 8.Raúl 71 0.41 9.Christian Vieri 63 0.36 10.Lothar Matthäus 36 0.21 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
2000 (266 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Luís Figo 648 2.44 2.Zinedine Zidane 535 2.01 3.Rivaldo 272 1.02 4.Andriy Shevchenko 267 1.00 5.Gabriel Batistuta 255 0.96 6.Romário 212 0.80 7.David Beckham 136 0.51 8.Alessandro Nesta 78 0.29 9.Thierry Henry 76 0.29 10.Patrick Kluivert 73 0.27 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
2001 (144 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Michael Owen 288 2.00 2.Luís Figo 234 1.63 3.Raúl 216 1.50 4.Oliver Kahn 131 0.91 5.Zinedine Zidane 110 0.76 6.Francesco Totti 107 0.74 7.David Beckham 103 0.72 8.Andriy Shevchenko 99 0.69 9.Rivaldo 60 0.42 10.Thierry Henry 56 0.39 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
2002 (252 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Ronaldo 447 1.77 2.Roberto Carlos 371 1.47 3.Zinedine Zidane 341 1.35 4.Oliver Kahn 322 1.28 5.Michael Ballack 305 1.21 6.Thierry Henry 275 1.09 7.Raúl 238 0.94 8.Rivaldo 146 0.58 9.Ruud van Nistelrooij 103 0.41 10.David Beckham 61 0.24 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
2003 (304 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Pavel Nedved 818 2.69 2.Thierry Henry 540 1.78 3.Zinedine Zidane 350 1.15 4.Ruud van Nistelrooij 305 1.00 5.Ronaldo 233 0.77 6.Andriy Shevchenko 205 0.67 7.Paolo Maldini 180 0.59 8.Francesco Totti 124 0.41 9.Roberto Carlos 114 0.38 10.Raúl 98 0.32 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
2004 (203 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Ronaldinho 437 2.15 2.Andriy Shevchenko 329 1.62 3.Deco 297 1.46 4.Thierry Henry 221 1.09 5.Adriano 167 0.82 6.Cristiano Ronaldo 157 0.77 7,Carlos Tévez 85 0.42 8.Pavel Nedved 82 0.40 9.Frank Lampard 75 0.37 10.Wayne Rooney 71 0.35 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
2005 (150 votes)
player pts ppv 1.Ronaldinho 482 3.21 2.Frank Lampard 281 1.87 3.Stephen Gerrard 191 1.27 4.Samuel Eto'o 155 1.03 5.Thierry Henry 91 0.61 6.Andriy Shevchenko 81 0.54 7.Adriano 58 0.39 8.Deco 53 0.35 9.Kaká 50 0.33 10.Rogerio Ceni 48 0.32 NB: ppv signifies points given per voter
player 1 2 3 4 5 1.Ronaldo 3 1 2.Ronaldinho 2 3.Zinedine Zidane 1 2 2 1 4.Luís Figo 1 1 Romário 1 1 6.Rivaldo 1 1 7.George Weah 1 1 8.Roberto Baggio 1 1 9.Marco van Basten 1 Pavel Nedved 1 Michael Owen 1 12.Hristo Stoitchkov 2 13.Gabriel Batistuta 1 1 1 1 14.Andriy Shevchenko 1 1 1 15.Paolo Maldini 1 1 16.Thierry Henry 1 1 1 17.Roberto Carlos 1 1 18.David Beckham 1 Frank Lampard 1 Alan Shearer 1 21.Dennis Bergkamp 1 1 22.Deco 1 Stephen Gerrard 1 Patrick Kluivert 1 Raúl 1 Matthias Sammer 1 Peter Schmeichel 1 Lilian Thuram 1 28.Oliver Kahn 2 29.Samuel Eto'o 1 Ruud Gullit 1 Gheorghe Hagi 1 Jürgen Klinsmann 1 Michael Laudrup 1 Ruud van Nistelrooij 1 Emmanuel Petit 1 34.Eric Cantona 2 35.Adriano 1 Michael Ballack 1 Alessandro Del Piero 1 Raí 1 Davor Suker 1 Juan Sebastián Verón 1 Only Zinedine Zidane has made the top-5 on 6 different occasions; Gabriel Batistuta managed 4 times and occupied every top-5 place once except for the first; Ronaldo managed 4 times, winning 3 times. Andriy Shevchenko and Theirry Henry had 3 top-5 finishes, but no other player finished in the top-5 more than twice. Stoitchkov was runner-up in both the closest (1994) and the most one-sided (1992) election.
player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.Ronaldo 3 1 1
2.Ronaldinho 2
3.Zinedine Zidane 1 2 2 1 1
4.Luís Figo 1 1 1
Romário 1 1 1
6.Rivaldo 1 1 1 1 1
7.George Weah 1 1
8.Roberto Baggio 1 1
9.Michael Owen 1 1
10.Pavel Nedved 1 1
11.Marco van Basten 1
12.Hristo Stoitchkov 2
13.Gabriel Batistuta 1 1 1 1 1 2
14.Paolo Maldini 1 1 1
15.Thierry Henry 1 1 1 1 1 1
16.Roberto Carlos 1 1 1
17.David Beckham 1 2 1
18.Alan Shearer 1 1 1
19.Frank Lampard 1 1
20.Andriy Shevchenko 2 1 2 1
21.Dennis Bergkamp 1 1 1 1
22.Raúl 1 1 1 1 1
23.Deco 1 1
24.Patrick Kluivert 1 1
Peter Schmeichel 1 1
26.Stephen Gerrard 1
Matthias Sammer 1
Lilian Thuram 1
29.Oliver Kahn 2
30.Jürgen Klinsmann 1 2
31.Ruud van Nistelrooij 1 1
32.Samuel Eto'o 1
Ruud Gullit 1
Gheorghe Hagi 1
Michael Laudrup 1
Emmanuel Petit 1
37.Eric Cantona 2
38.Alessandro Del Piero 1 1 1
39.Adriano 1 1
Davor Suker 1 1
41.Michael Ballack 1
Raí 1
Juan Sebastián Verón 1
44.Francesco Totti 1 1
45.Faustino Asprilla 1
Jari Litmanen 1
Predrag Mijatovic 1
Cristiano Ronaldo 1
Frank Rijkaard 1
50.Bebeto 1 2 [*]
51.Roy Keane 1
Carlos Tévez 1
Gianluca Vialli 1
54.Ryan Giggs 1 [*]
Brian Laudrup 1 [*]
Alessandro Nesta 1
Jean-Pierre Papin 1
Michel Preud'homme 1
Marcelo Salas 1
60.Edgar Davids 1
Youri Djorkaeff 1
Thomas Hässler 1 [*]
Kaká 1
Christian Vieri 1
65.Rogerio Ceni 1
Lothar Matthäus 1
Wayne Rooney 1
Carlos Valderrama 1
[*] Bebeto and Hässler shared 9th place in the 1992 vote;
Giggs and Laudrup shared 8th place in the 1993 vote.
Batistuta and Zidane obtained a top-10 placing on 7 occasions;
Henry and Shevchenko 6 times, Raúl, Rivaldo and Ronaldo 5 times,
and Beckham and Bergkamp 4 times.
Below we list players who were selected by voters in at least 7 of
the polls from 1992 to 2001, first with their point totals, then
with their respective final placings, and finally with their points
per (hundred) voters (pphv) ratios.
Point Totals
App Name 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
10 Dennis Bergkamp 36 178 5 4 2 68 80 13 2 1
9 Gabriel Batistuta - 13 54 21 56 75 175 158 255 29
Ryan Giggs 2 58 1 1 5 14 - 20 32 6
Paolo Maldini 2 14 158 102 10 - 1 12 14 5
8 Roberto Baggio 12 407 101 10 - 3 18 - 9 6
Alessandro Del Piero - - 8 75 73 46 1 6 1 11
Fernando Redondo - 8 2 4 12 8 4 9 14 -
Romário 17 295 269 2 - 18 - 16 212 12
Peter Schmeichel 62 34 - 2 14 32 1 15 2 -
Alan Shearer 7 18 23 29 241 13 - - 3 1
Zinedine Zidane - 3 - 23 13 129 335 28 535 110
7 Roy Keane 5 1 - 3 1 - - 97 14 12
Brian Laudrup 52 3 12 5 7 2 6 - - -
George Weah 7 4 14 153 116 3 - 1 - -
Final Placings
App Name 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
10 Dennis Bergkamp 7 3 33 51 87 4 8 28 134 114
9 Gabriel Batistuta - 32 7 10 10 3 2 4 5 14
Ryan Giggs 44 8 77 86 49 18 - 15 16 39
Paolo Maldini 44 29 3 2 10 - 93 31 37 45
8 Roberto Baggio 16 1 5 25 - 72 16 - 45 39
Alessandro Del Piero - - 23 5 8 7 93 53 164 28
Fernando Redondo - 39 53 51 26 27 52 39 37 -
Romário 13 2 1 71 - 15 - 23 6 25
Peter Schmeichel 3 12 - 71 19 10 93 26 134 -
Alan Shearer 21 21 10 8 2 20 - - 113 114
Zinedine Zidane - 79 - 9 23 2 1 13 2 5
7 Roy Keane 26 116 - 63 108 - - 7 37 25
Brian Laudrup 4 79 16 35 38 82 35 - - -
George Weah 21 69 14 1 4 72 - 143 - -
Points Per Hundred Voters (pphv)
App Name 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
10 Dennis Bergkamp 61 119 5 5 1 76 64 7 1 1
9 Gabriel Batistuta - 9 55 28 40 83 140 91 96 20
Ryan Giggs 3 39 1 1 4 16 - 11 12 4
Paolo Maldini 3 9 160 134 7 - 1 7 5 3
8 Roberto Baggio 20 273 102 13 - 3 14 - 3 4
Alessandro Del Piero - - 8 99 53 51 1 3 0 8
Fernando Redondo - 6 2 5 9 9 3 5 5 -
Romário 29 198 272 3 - 20 - 9 80 8
Peter Schmeichel 105 23 - 3 10 36 1 9 1 -
Alan Shearer 12 12 23 38 173 14 - - 1 1
Zinedine Zidane - 2 - 30 9 143 268 16 201 76
7 Roy Keane 8 1 - 4 1 - - 56 5 8
Brian Laudrup 88 2 12 7 5 2 8 - - -
George Weah 12 3 14 201 83 3 - 1 - -
Based on the seasonwise pphv totals, we obtain the following cumulative ranking for the period 1992-2001: Nr Name 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 SUM 1.Zinedine Zidane - 2 - 30 9 143 268 16 201 76 745 2.Ronaldo - - - 18 250 307 66 - 1 - 642 3.Romário 29 198 272 3 - 20 - 9 80 8 619 4.Gabriel Batistuta - 9 55 28 40 83 140 91 96 20 562 5.Rivaldo - - - - - 2 61 308 102 42 515 6.Luís Figo - - - - 4 7 2 60 244 163 480 7.Hristo Stoitchkov 147 17 257 13 1 - 4 - - - 439 8.Roberto Baggio 20 273 102 13 - 3 14 - 3 4 432 9.Marco van Basten 351 5 - - - - - - - - 356 10.Dennis Bergkamp 61 119 5 5 1 76 64 7 1 1 340 11.David Beckham - - - - 12 11 6 180 51 72 332 12.Paolo Maldini 3 9 160 134 7 - 1 7 5 3 329 13.George Weah 12 3 14 201 83 3 - 1 - - 317 14.Andriy Shevchenko - - - - - 23 7 107 100 69 306 15.Michael Owen - - - - - 1 67 10 6 200 284 16.Alan Shearer 12 12 23 38 173 14 - - 1 1 274 17.Raúl - - - - 11 38 7 41 26 150 273 18.Jürgen Klinsmann - 7 74 113 67 1 2 - - - 264 19.Alessandro Del Piero - - 8 99 53 51 1 3 0 8 223 20.Peter Schmeichel 105 23 - 3 10 36 1 9 1 - 188
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans (karel@rsssf.com)
Last updated: 4 Mar 2006
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2000/06
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.