Podolski named Best Young Player
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-08 09:20 Lothar Matthaeus, who played a record 25 World Cup matches and was patron for
the award, said the Bayern Munich-bound Podolski was a good choice.
"He is a street footballer. You can see he loves the sport and for this
reason, I'm overly pleased that the jury decided to give this award to Lukas
Podolski."
Matthaeus said it was a shame that Messi got limited game time with Argentina
and Rooney came into the tournament injured.
"Two great talents were not able to showcase their talents and present
themselves the way we had expected," he said.
Other finalists were Messi, Luis Valencia of Ecuador, Tranquillo Barnetta of
Switzerland and Cesc Fabregas of Spain.
Messi, Ronaldo and Valencia made the shortlist by finishing in the top three
of fan voting via www.FIFAworldcup.com while Barnetta, Fabregas and Podolski
were nominated by FIFA. Podolski finished fourth in the fan vote.
Podolski, who turned 21 on June 4, has three goals in six matches.
The Gillette award goes to "the player born on or after January 1, 1985, who
makes the biggest impression at the FIFA World Cup ... criteria for the award
include "style, charisma, fair play and appetite for the game, as well as pure
technical skill."
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