WARRIORS coach Ian Gorowa and captain Masimba Mambare picked Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2013 Fifa World Player of the year of the award, according to voting results published by the world football governing body yesterday.
BY SPORTS EDITOR
Gorowa picked Ronaldo as his first choice, followed by Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi while Franck Ribery, the Bayern Munich winger was third in his list — the same as Mambare, who was captain of the Warriors at the time of voting.
Media personnel Charles Mabika also had Ronaldo in the first place, but had Ribery in second and Borussia Dortmund star Robert Lewandoski in third place, ignoring Messi.
Scoring at a ratio of over a goal a game, he became the quickest Real Madrid player to reach 200 goals for the club and signed a new deal at the Bernabéu in what was a sensational 2013 for the 28-year-old.
Both Ronaldo and his mother Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro were in tears as Pele announced the winner at Kongresshaus in Zurich on Monday night.
Legend Pele was awarded the first winner of the FIFA Ballon D’Or Prix D’Honneur.
The FIFA Ballon d’OR Prix D’Honneur winner is the only man to win three World Cups.
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic won the FIFA Puskas Award 2013 for his overhead goal during the Sweden vs England match.
For the coach of the year, the Zimbabwean voting trio was united in Heynckes, who led Bayern to the league and cup double in addition to the Champions League trophy.
However, Mambare had retired Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson as his second choice and Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari as his third.
Gorowa and Mabika both had the Dortmund boss in second place with the former also having Spanish mentor Vincente del Bosque in third place and Rafael Benitez, formerly of Chelsea respectively.
World Team of the Year 2013: Neuer, Alves, Ramos, Thiago Silva, Lahm, Iniesta, Xavi, Ribery, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo
