Zidane, Ronaldinho shortlisted for FIFA Player of Year award

France star Zinedine Zidane, sent off in the World Cup final in Berlin, and Brazilian playmaker Rondalinho were named on a 30-man shortlist on Thursday for FIFA's World Player of the Year award.

Zidane bid farewell to international soccer after France lost to Italy in the final on July 9, during which he head-butted defender Marco Materazzi 10 minutes before the end of extra time.

Zidane and Barcelona's Ronaldinho are the only men on the shortlist to have previously won the FIFA award.

English Premier League champion Chelsea is the most represented club with six players on the shortlist: England's Frank Lampard, Petr Cech of Czech Republic, Ghana's Michael Essien, Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast, Germany's Michael Ballack and Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko.

Also on the list are Brazilians Adriano and Kaka along with Miroslav Klose, Jens Lehmann and Philipp Lahm of Germany.

World champion Italy is represented by Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta and Andrea Pirlo.

The other French players on the shortlist apart from Zidane are Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira, Franck Ribery and Thierry Henry.

Portugal trio Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Deco are also among the candidates for the award, as is Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, England pair Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme and Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky.

The winner will be announced in Zurich on Dec. 18.

Source: Xinhua