Fabio Cannavaro lands awardItalian skipper Fabio Cannavaro has been awarded the prestigious European Footballer of the Year by France Football magazine.
Cannavaro won tallied 173 votes while team-mate Gianluigi Buffon has 124 and France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry was third with 121.
"It has a double importance because it's given to the greatest players and as a defender it's rare to have this honour," said Cannavaro
"The World Cup in Germany was perfect for a defender. I remember in particular the semi-final against Germany."
He continued: "I want to thank Real president Raman Calderon and my team-mates from Juve and the national team who had an important part to play in my winning this award,"
"Many people analysed my season with Juve in 2005 for this vote. In that season I played 37 matches and scored four crucial goals."
The top five
1. Fabio Cannavaro
2. Gianluigi Buffon
3. Thierry Henry
4. Ronaldinho
5. Zinedine Zidane
2. Gianluigi Buffon
3. Thierry Henry
4. Ronaldinho
5. Zinedine Zidane
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