El País King of European Soccer

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El País King of European Soccer (alternative: El País European Player of the Year) was an annual football award given by Uruguayan newspaper El País to the best footballer in Europe. It had been decided by several European sports experts, critics and journalists based on votes. Any player from a European team was eligible, regardless their country of origin. It was first awarded in 1991 with French Jean-Pierre Papin having been the inaugural winner. The last winner was Argentine Lionel Messi in 2012. Messi and Zinedine Zidane are the record winners of the award with four wins each.[1]

Winners[edit]

Source:[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Year Rank Player Club Points
1991 1st France Jean-Pierre Papin France Marseille
1992 1st Netherlands Marco van Basten Italy AC Milan
1993 1st Italy Roberto Baggio Italy Juventus
1994 1st Italy Paolo Maldini Italy AC Milan
1995 1st Liberia George Weah Italy AC Milan
1996 1st Brazil Ronaldo Spain Barcelona
1997 1st Brazil Ronaldo Italy Inter Milan
1998 1st France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus
1999 1st Brazil Rivaldo Spain Barcelona 75
2nd England David Beckham England Manchester United 44
3rd Portugal Luís Figo Spain Barcelona 23
2000 1st Portugal Luís Figo Spain Real Madrid 45
2nd France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus 40
3rd Italy Alessandro Nesta Italy Lazio 30
2001 1st France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid 41
2nd England Michael Owen England Liverpool 40
3rd Spain Raúl Spain Real Madrid 36
2002 1st France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid 59
2nd Brazil Roberto Carlos Spain Real Madrid 43
3rd Germany Oliver Kahn Germany Bayern Munich 34
2003 1st France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid 45
2nd Czech Republic Pavel Nedvěd Italy Juventus 38
3rd Brazil Roberto Carlos Spain Real Madrid 31
2004 1st Brazil Ronaldinho Spain Barcelona
2nd France Thierry Henry England Arsenal
3rd Czech Republic Pavel Nedvěd Italy Juventus
2005 1st Brazil Ronaldinho Spain Barcelona 59
2nd England Frank Lampard England Chelsea 33
3rd England John Terry England Chelsea 24
2006 1st Brazil Ronaldinho Spain Barcelona 54
2nd Italy Fabio Cannavaro Spain Real Madrid 43
3rd France Thierry Henry England Arsenal 35
2007 1st Brazil Kaká Italy AC Milan
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
3rd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United
2008 1st Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United 64
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 57
3rd Italy Gianluigi Buffon Italy Juventus
2009 1st Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2010 1st Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2011 1st Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2012 1st Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 108
2nd Spain Andrés Iniesta Spain Barcelona 93
3rd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Real Madrid 9
Zinedine Zidane (left) and Lionel Messi hold the record for the most wins, with 4 each.

Most wins by player[edit]

Consecutive wins
  • Lionel Messi is the only player in history to win the award in 4 consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
  • Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho won the award in 3 successive years (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, 2005, 2006, respectively).
  • Brazilian Ronaldo won the award twice in a row (1996, 1997).

European Coach of the Year[edit]

Year Rank Player Team Points
1991 1st France Michel Platini France France
1992 1st Netherlands Johan Cruyff Spain Barcelona
1993 1st Netherlands Johan Cruyff Spain Barcelona
1994 1st Netherlands Johan Cruyff Spain Barcelona
1995 1st Netherlands Louis van Gaal Netherlands Ajax
1996 1st Italy Marcello Lippi Italy Juventus
1997 1st Italy Marcello Lippi Italy Juventus
1998 1st Italy Marcello Lippi Italy Juventus
1999 1st Scotland Alex Ferguson England Manchester United 35
2nd Netherlands Louis van Gaal Spain Barcelona 17
3rd Sweden Sven-Göran Eriksson Italy Lazio 14
2000 1st Scotland Alex Ferguson England Manchester United
2001 1st Germany Ottmar Hitzfeld Germany Bayern Munich
2002 1st France Arsène Wenger England Arsenal 30
2nd Spain Vicente del Bosque Spain Real Madrid 28
3rd Germany Klaus Toppmöller Germany Bayer Leverkusen 24
2003 1st Scotland Alex Ferguson England Manchester United 25
2nd Italy Fabio Capello Italy Roma 24
Italy Marcello Lippi Italy Juventus 24
2004 1st Portugal José Mourinho Portugal PortoEngland Chelsea
2nd France Arsène Wenger England Arsenal
3rd Italy Fabio Capello Italy Roma

Italy Juventus

Germany Otto Rehhagel Greece Greece
2005 1st Portugal José Mourinho England Chelsea 48
2nd Spain Rafael Benítez England Liverpool 32
Italy Fabio Capello Italy Juventus 32
2006 1st Portugal José Mourinho England Chelsea 46
2nd Netherlands Frank Rijkaard Spain Barcelona 43
2007 1st France Arsène Wenger England Arsenal
2nd Scotland Alex Ferguson England Manchester United
2008 1st Scotland Alex Ferguson England Manchester United
2012 1st Spain Vicente del Bosque Spain Spain
2nd Portugal José Mourinho Spain Real Madrid
3rd Spain Pep Guardiola Spain Barcelona

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Messi and Del Bosque crowned the 'Kings of Europe' | English". AS.com. 30 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018.
  2. ^ "European Player and Team of the Year". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  3. ^ "European Player, Team and Coach of the Year 1999". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ^ "European Player of the Year 2000". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  5. ^ "European Player of the Year 2001". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2002". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2003". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  8. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2004". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  9. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2005". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  10. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2006". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  11. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2007". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  12. ^ "European Player and Coach of the Year 2008". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Messi and Del Bosque crowned the 'Kings of Europe' | English | AS.com". 21 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2023.

External links[edit]