It's a small world

The voting for last week's FIFA World Player of the Year made some interesting reading, not least the decision by Belize coach…

The voting for last week's FIFA World Player of the Year made some interesting reading, not least the decision by Belize coach Manuel Reinaldo Bilches to nominate West Ham's Paolo Wanchope as the third best player in the world in 1999. We're saying nothing. Andy Cole had his supporters too, amongst them the coaches of Azerbaijan, Cape Verde Islands, Laos, Maldives, Mauritius, Peru, Slovakia, Uzbekistan and Zambia, while Antigua, the Virgin Islands and Jamaica showed no bias whatsoever when voting for Dwight Yorke, king of the Caribbean. And, we're certain, New Zealand's Ken Dugdale donned a straight face when picking near neighbour Harry Kewell as the third best player in the world.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times