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Italian captain Cannavaro wins Golden Ball award

Fabio Cannavaro has become the first defender in 10 years, and the third in 30 years, to win the Golden Ball award, the prize for the best European soccer player of the year. Cannavaro played for Italian club Juventus last season, and moved to Real Madrid over the summer. He was the captain of the Italian national team that won the World Cup in Germany.

52 international journalists voted Cannavaro first, with 173 points. His team-mate on the Italian team, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon came in second with 124 points. "This is a double honor," Cannavaro said. "It is given to the best player, and the fact I am a defender makes it even more special." It has also drawn criticism from around the soccer world, for reqarding a "destructive" player rather than a "creative" one.

Meanwhile, FIFA nominated three players for the World Player of the year award. The three are Cannavaro, Ronaldinho and Zin?dine Zidane. Ronaldinho won the European award last year and was fourth this time around. Zidane played his last professional game in the World Cup games, and was fifth in voting with 71 points. Peculiar enough, Thierry Henry who came in third in the European award votes, was not on the shortlist for World Player of the year.