Global sport

Global sport

Rivaldo player of the year
LONDON: Brazilian International Rivaldo has been voted World player of the year by readers of World soccer magazine.

He finished the overwhelming winner of the poll, collecting 42.27 per cent votes. Manchester United's David Beckham was second (26.55 per cent) followed by Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko of AC Milan (9.02 per cent). Manchester United were voted World team of the year, their manager Alex Ferguson voted manager of the year.

Pele top Olympian!
LAUSANNE: The World's National Olympic Committees voted Pele as No 1 in their top five athletes of the century, even though he's the only one of the five who didn't take part in the Olympics. Behind Pele come Muhammad Ali, who won the Olympic light-heavyweight title in 1960 before becoming a heavyweight; Carl Lewis, who won nine athletics gold medals; basketball star Michael Jordan, a United States `Dream Team' gold medallist in 1992; and Mark Spitz, who won seven swimming titles in 1972 atMunich.

Schumacher wary
LONDON: Dual World champion Michael Schumacher has said he would consider ending his Formula One career if a brash young driver in the mould of Ayrton Senna challenged his dominance.

Schumacher, interviewed by former title-holder Damon Hill for Formula 1 magazine, believed it may become too dangerous. ``It would be a new experience for me, because my career has always been me being young, and trying to beat older people,'' the 30-year-old German said. ``You may try to extend yourself to keep up with what he's doing. And that can be dangerous.'' Agencies