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| France was to bestow the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour on former World Cup star Raymond Kopa at a reception at the Elysee, the French league announced Monday. |
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| Following is a list of winners of
the Ballon d'Or award:
1956 - Stanley Matthews (England)
1957 - Alfredo di Stefano (Spain)
1958 - Raymond Kopa (France)
1959 - Alfredo di Stefano (Spain)
1960 - Luis Suarez (Spain)
1961 - Omar Sivori (Italy)
1962 - Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia)
1963 - Lev Yashin (Soviet Union)
1964 - Denis Law (Scotland)
1965 - Eusebio (Portugal)
1966 - Bobby Charlton (England)
1967 - Florian Albert (Hungary)
1968 - George Best (Northern Ireland)
1969 - Gianni Rivera (Italy)
1970 - Gerd Mueller (West Germany)
1971 - Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1972 - Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
1973 - Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1974 - Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1975 - Oleg Blokhin (Soviet Union)
1976 - Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
1977 - Allan Simonsen (Denmark)
1978 - Kevin Keegan (England)
1979 - Kevin Keegan (England)
1980 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
1981 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
1982 - Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1983 - Michel Platini (France)
1984 - Michel Platini (France)
1985 - Michel Platini (France)
1986 - Igor Belanov (Soviet Union)
1987 - Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
1988 - Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1989 - Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1990 - Lothar Matthaeus (Germany)
1991 - Jean-Pierre Papin (France)
1992 - Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1993 - Roberto Baggio (Italy)
1994 - Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
1995 - George Weah (Liberia)
1996 - Matthias Sammer (Germany)
1997 - Ronaldo (Brazil)
1998 - Zinedine Zidane (France)
1999 - Rivaldo (Brazil)
2000 - Luis Figo (Portugal)
2001 - Michael Owen (England)
2002 - Ronaldo (Brazil)
2003 - Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
2004 - Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)
2005 - Ronaldinho (Brazil)
2006 - Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
2007 - Kaka (Brazil)
(Compiled by Patrick Vignal; Editing by Justin Palmer)
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Iraq?s national soccer federation believes Qatar should have to forfeit its victory over Iraq in a World Cup qualifying match because one of its players was ineligible to play.
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| After the MLS All-Stars' 3-2 victory against West Ham United at a packed BMO Field, All-Star head coach Steve Nicol thought his temporary charges earned the victory. |
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| For one night only, Cuauhtémoc Blanco wasn't the guy that everyone other than his Chicago Fire teammates loves to hate. Unless of course you were wearing the sky-blue uniforms of West Ham United. |
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| There were many players in the MLS locker room Thursday who were veterans of several MLS All-Star Games. And then there was Pablo Mastroeni, who was selected for his ninth MLS All-Star Game Thursday night at BMO Field. |
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| It's hard for Pat Onstad to find the point where one day ended and the next began. Playing two games in two countries for two teams in the same calendar day has a way of melding days together. |
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| The best players in MLS descended on Toronto for the MLS All-Star Game. And after it was over, they gushed about the experience as if they were a developmental player on the very tail end of the roster. |
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| The final score wasn't what West Ham United was looking for at the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game, but as far as the Premiership club was concerned, their performance in the 3-2 defeat was still positive. |
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| A big night at BMO Field on Thursday provided the rowdy Canadian supporters with lots of great soccer. Strangely, it looked less like an All-Star event than just a good, skillful match. |
