It's a tight three-way race for the traditional end-of-year selection for the FIFA's World Player of the Year' award, decided by coaches of national teams all around the world.

FIFA, world soccer's governing body, is scheduled to stage its World Player Gala 2003 on Monday in Basel, Switzerland.

Real Madrid's French soccer star Zinedine Zidane  [AFP/File]

Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid is now in contention for FIFA's Player of the Year, along with France teammate Thierry Henry of Arsenal and Ronaldo of Real Madrid.

The popularity of the 31-year-old Zidane is extraordinary, bearing in mind he has not played for a French club since 1996.

No one has a bad word to say about "Zizou," whose gentle personality, devotion to his family and dislike of the limelight only add to the lustre of his displays for club and country.

The midfielder's two goals in the 1998 World Cup final against Brazil sealed France's greatest sporting achievement.

That victory in Paris was also a defining moment in modern French life and Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, became a symbol for many of how French society should evolve.

A poll in 2000 showed Zidane was France's favourite personality, ahead of an 87-year-old Catholic priest who gave up a wealthy life to care for the poor.

Twice a winner of the award, Zidane moved from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 for a world-record fee of US$64.4 million.

Playing for the finest national team in French history, Zidane won the European title in 2000. This year, he has helped Real to win the Spanish title and France to score 13 straight victories, a national record.

Proud swan

Henry stands to complete a remarkable transformation if he goes from a bit part at Juventus to FIFA's World Player of the Year with Arsenal.

The 26-year-old striker has certainly become familiar with accolades, after gaining considerable recognition from English football last season.

Yet Henry's high-profile rise in the world game follows a period in the soccer wilderness, when few would have backed the youngster from the Paris suburbs.

Henry had been marked out for the elite from his early teens, joining up with France's national football institute at Clairefontaine and the club academy of Monaco where, for the first time, he caught the eye of coach Arsene Wenger.

Henry made his Monaco debut two weeks after his 17th birthday and within two years had become a first-team regular, helping the side to win the first division title in 1997 - the year he also won his first senior cap for France.

The momentum continued as Henry picked up a 1998 World Cup winners' medal and in January 1999.

Henry has long recognized his debt to Wenger, telling France Football magazine earlier this year: "In every match, I try to repay all the things he's given me. He was the one who launched my pro career at Monaco and he was the one who then re-launched it at Arsenal, holding out a hand to me when I was feeling down."

Cameo performer?

More than a few eyebrows were raised last December when Ronaldo was named World Player of the Year, on the strength of just a handful of cameo performances following his return from a career-threatening injury.

Ronaldo's "year" had effectively boiled down to a sensational month at the World Cup, a sparkling debut for his new club Real Madrid and the opening goal in their victory in the World Club Cup.

In many ways, the decision to give the Brazilian the award for the third time in his career (he also won in 1996 and 1997) was a sentimental one, a recognition that after three years of injury-plagued misery the sport had at last recovered one of its most exciting players.

The fairy-tale ending was completed with his stellar performance at the World Cup, firing Brazil to their fifth title with eight goals in seven games, including a double in the 2-0 victory over Germany in the final.

This year, however, Ronaldo has starred at Real Madrid over the full 12 months, proving beyond a doubt that he is still the most consistently decisive player.

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