|
|
|
|
|
CHICAGO IL (November
15, 2001) Two of the brightest
and most decorated stars in the U.S. Women's National Team program have
received an historic honor as Tiffeny Milbrett and Mia Hamm were named by FIFA,
the world governing body of soccer, as finalists for the first-ever
"World Female Player of the Year."
The winner will be announced on Monday, December 17 at the
FIFA World Player Gala 2001 in Zurich, Switzerland.
FIFA
has named a men's "World Player of the Year" since 1991, but this
will be the first year that a woman will be so honored.
Chinese superstar Sun Wen joins Hamm and Milbrett as the three
finalists who were nominated in voting by 72 women's national team coaches
from around the world. Five
points were awarded for a first place nomination, three points for a second
place, and one point for a third. Coaches were not permitted to vote for
players from their own national team. The voting closed on October 31, 2001. "First
and foremost, it's tremendous that FIFA is recognizing a female player of the
year for the first time," said Milbrett.
"It gives women's soccer a new importance and respect worldwide.
Some truly amazing things have happened in our sport over the past
decade and this a great sign of the steps FIFA is taking to raise the stature
of the women's game." Hamm
is the world's all-time leading scorer in international competition with 129
career goals and has played an amazing 219 matches for the United States.
She was U.S. Soccer's Chevrolet Female Athlete of the Year for an
unprecedented five consecutive years from 1994-'98 and is one of the most
recognizable female athletes in the United States.
During the inaugural season of the Women's United Soccer Association
(WUSA), she led the Washington Freedom in scoring with six goals and four
assists. In her most recent match
for the USA, Hamm scored twice to lead the U.S. to a 4-1 victory over Germany
at the 2001 NIKE U.S. Women's Cup. Milbrett,
with 86 career goals, ranks sixth all-time in international scoring behind
Hamm, Elisabetta Vignotto of Italy (107), Carolina Morace of Italy (105),
Michelle Akers (105) and Kristine Lilly (87).
With 186 caps, Milbrett ranks fifth on the USA's all-time list.
Milbrett has had a spectacular
two years, scoring 15 goals and nine assists in 2000, including both of the
USA's goals in the Olympic gold medal match.
She was named U.S. Soccer's Chevrolet Female Athlete of the Year for
2000. She terrorized the WUSA
during the inaugural season in 2001, scoring 16 goals with three assists and
was named the WUSA's Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year.
Milbrett has played in just five matches for the U.S. Women's National Team
in 2001, but scored in three of them. Sun
was hampered by injuries during the first season of the WUSA, playing in just
13 games while starting five. She
scored just one goal and had two assists, but her play off the bench was
instrumental in helping the Atlanta Beat to the championship game. England's
David Beckham, Portugal's Luis Figo and Raúl of Spain lead the way among the
players nominated for the title of "FIFA World Player of the Year
2001." Other awards to
be given out include the "Team of the Year," the "Best Mover of
the Year" according to the FIFA World Ranking, the "Fair Play Award
2001" the "Fair Play Diploma 2001" and the "FIFA
Presidential Award," a new decoration for a member of the worldwide
football family personally
chosen by the FIFA President. [Source:
www.ussoccer.com, U.S. Soccer
Communications - 312/808-1300]
|
|
|