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Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho retained FIFA's world player of the year award after helping Barcelona win the Spanish soccer league for the first time since 1999.
The 25-year-old overwhelmingly beat Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o in a poll of national team coaches and captains, FIFA, soccer's world governing body, announced at an awards ceremony in Zurich. Ronaldinho had 956 points to 306 for Lampard and 190 for Eto'o.
Another Brazilian, Ronaldo in 1996 and 1997, is the only other player to win the award in consecutive years.
All 15 winners stretching back to Germany's Lothar Matthaeus in 1991 have claimed the award while playing for Spanish or Italian teams. Seven awards have gone to Europeans and seven to South Americans, while George Weah of Liberia was Africa's only recipient, in 1995.
Ronaldinho also was picked as Europe's player of the year on Nov. 28 and was voted the best player by the international players' union.
The Brazilian, whose full name is Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, joined Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain for $25 million in July 2003. He helped the Spanish club finish second in the Primera Liga in his first season before it won the title this year.
His performances have continued to drive the club's success, with Barcelona standing two points ahead of Osasuna atop the league after 16 of 38 games this season following a 3-1 win at Cadiz two days ago.
Champions League
The Spanish champion will meet Chelsea in the round of 16 of Europe's Champions League.
Ronaldinho was applauded by fans of rival Real Madrid when he twice ran 30 yards with the ball to score in a 3-0 league win on Nov. 19, making him the first Barcelona player to get an ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid since Diego Maradona in 1983. Barcelona's membership has risen to a record 130,000 since he joined the team.
He has as many as 20 ways of getting around and past rivals, including a move called ``la cola de vaca,'' Spanish for cow's tail, in which he flicks the ball from one shoe to another.
Ronaldinho was the world's sixth highest-earning player last season with 10 million euros ($12 million) in salary and endorsements from companies including Nike Inc. and PepsiCo Inc., France Football magazine reported in May.
Childhood
Raised by his mother in the city of Porto Alegre after his father died, he joined the local first-division team, Gremio, as a 7-year-old, following in the footsteps of his brother Roberto. He made his Brazil debut as a 19-year-old Gremio player in June 1999 before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2001.
Lampard, who has played in 163 straight Premiership games for Chelsea, is the first Englishman to finish in the top three of the poll since David Beckham was second in 2001. Eto'o joins Weah as the only African players to make the three-man shortlist.
German striker Birgit Prinz won the women's award for the third straight year, beating Brazilian midfielder Marta and U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx.
*T FIFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1991: Lothar Matthaeus (Germany)
1992: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1993: Roberto Baggio (Italy)
1994: Romario (Brazil)
1995: George Weah (Liberia)
1996: Ronaldo (Brazil)
1997: Ronaldo (Brazil)
1998: Zinedine Zidane (France)
1999: Rivaldo (Brazil)
2000: Zinedine Zidane (France)
2001: Luis Figo (Portugal)
2002: Ronaldo (Brazil)
2003: Zinedine Zidane (France)
2004: Ronaldinho (Brazil)
2005: Ronaldinho (Brazil)
Real Madrid defender Ivan Helguera was preparing for a double celebration on Thursday after signing up for three years more years at the Bernabeu and then heading off to witness the birth of his first child.
"I'm delighted as I've been at this club for many years and now I'm going to stay three more," the 30-year-old centre-back told a brief news conference at Real's training ground in Valdebebas.
"But don't ask me too many questions, though, as I'm just about to shoot off to hospital where my wife is about to give birth."
Helguera, whose original deal was due to expire in June 2006, has committed himself to the club until 2009.
The announcement of the agreement came on Wednesday night, just a few hours after goalkeeper Iker Casillas had said that he would be remaining at the club until 2011.
Real Madrid vice-president Emilio Butragueno said the defender's decision to remain at the club was a major boost.
"It's turning out to be a very good day for him," he said. "We are very pleased that he's going to be with us for another three years.
"He is going to become one of the most important senior players in the dressing room and will be an influential figure for Real Madrid in the forthcoming seasons."
Helguera, who can also play in midfield, has been a fixture in the Real Madrid first team since joining them from Espanyol in 1999.
He has won two league titles and two European Cups with the club.
Benitez won't take Real Madrid job
Madrid fired coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo on Sunday, less than two weeks after the team's board gave him a vote of confidence. Benitez has been mentioned as a candidate for the Real job.
"I am happy at Liverpool, I am Liverpool's manager and I have a job to do here," Benitez said. "I have said this in the past and now I have an important game in the Champions League against Chelsea to think about and that is all that is on my mind."
Benitez, who led Valencia to the league and UEFA Cup titles in 2004, formerly coached Madrid's junior teams and worked his way up to the reserves.
Madrid, in fourth place in the league, appointed Juan Ramon Lopez Caro as temporary coach.
Luxemburgo is the fifth coach to depart the Spanish team in the past 2 1/2 years, during which it has failed to win a major trophy.
Beckham sent off in Madrid's 1-0 win
Ronaldo scored and David Beckham was ejected in Real Madrid's 1-0 win over neighbour Getafe in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Ronaldo, who was returning from injury after appearing in only one of Madrid's previous nine games, struck in the 18th minute at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to lift Madrid into fourth place in the standings.
Beckham received a red card in the 57th minute for a tackle on striker Ivan ``Riki'' Sanchez-Rico.
The midfielder, wearing a black armband in honour of George Best — the Manchester United and Northern Ireland star who was buried earlier on Saturday, then exchanged angry words with Getafe coach Bernd Schuster before he exited through the players' tunnel.
``I congratulated him on his good game,'' Schuster said sarcastically before agreeing that Beckham had appeared over-excited during the game.
The dismissal was the midfielder's fourth since he joined Madrid from Manchester United in 2003. It was also the third time Beckham has been sent off this season. He was ejected playing for England against Austria and for Madrid against Valencia.
``The ejection was bad because it's not good to be with a player less. But to suggest he was seeking a red card is another matter. We're having a difficult time and perhaps he is trying to do things the wrong way,'' Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo was quoted as saying by news agency Efe.
Madrid's victory was its first in three league games and only its third in its last seven. It created few chances and was forced into a defensive posture following Beckham's dismissal.
In other games, Celta Vigo downed lowly Real Betis 2-1 to claim third place, while Pablo Orbaiz's goal six minutes into injury time gave struggling Athletic Bilbao a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.
After 13 games, FC Barcelona leads with 28 points, ahead of Osasuna on goal difference. Celta has 26, one more than Madrid. Villarreal and Sevilla have 23.
Ronaldo scored when he raced onto a pass by Zinedine Zidane, maintained possession despite colliding with Getafe defender Cosmin Contra and then poked the ball home from just inside the area.
The Brazilian striker had been sidelined for a month with strained ankle ligaments but returned for Madrid's 3-0 defeat by Barcelona two weeks ago. He re-injured the ankle and missed two more games, one in the league and one in the European Champions League.
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