WORLD SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Paolo ROSSI
Inaugural winner… Rossi on the cover
A fairy tale come to life
P
aolo Rossi is World Soccer’ Soccer’s first-ever World Footballer of the Year – that is the verdict of a poll conducted among contributors and readers, the results of which were, predictably, heavily influenced by events at the World Cup finals in Spain. But while world champions Italy provided a top-scoring four players in the top ten, note also the strong representation of Brazil – with Falcao, Zico and Socrates finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively. There is no doubt that football lovers the world over were captivated by the brilliant Brazilians at the World Cup, and that is duly reflected by the appearance of Brazil at the head of the World Team of the Year poll. Italy had to be satisfied with second place here, but a more than adequate compensation was the election of Enzo Bearzot as World Manager of the Year. Football fans around the world have studied the ups and downs of Bearzot’s career since he became sole national manager. He’s worked hard to bring Italy out of the stagnating defensive patterns of calcio to a new pinnacle in the world game and when Rossi and Co. collected the World Cup in Madrid, it was only right that the man they should instantly seek out to raise on their shoulders was Bearzot. Each of the separate categories produced points to note.
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ICONIC TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Azzurri goal king…Rossi
1982
