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On Friday, the captain of the Italian national team and Madrid "Real" defender was recognized as the best player of the World this year in the influential British magazine "World Soccer"'s annual survey. He became the second defender to win this title in the 25-year history of this award. In 1994, this was done by Italian Paolo Maldini. F. Cannavaro's victory was also one of the most convincing in the history of the entire voting - the player received 40 percent of the votes, which is three times more votes than the second and third place winners, the Cameroonian national team's player Samuel Eto'o and the French and London "Arsenal" forward Thierry Henry. F. Cannavaro was named the best European footballer of the year last month, and is also mentioned among the three candidates (along with Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho) to win the FIFA Player of the Year title, which will be announced on Monday. According to the Spanish media, the favorite to win the title is considered to be the best player in the world in 2005, Ronaldinho. The title of Coach of the Year was won by the Italian Marcello Lippi, while the European champions, the "Barcelona" team, were recognized as the best team in the world this year. The award for the best young player of the year went to the Catalan club's defender Lionel Messi.
