Argentina's veteran midfielder Juan Sebastian Verón has been voted the 2008 South American Footballer of the Year by prestigious Uruguayan newspaper El Pais.
The 33-year-old playmaker finished ahead of fellow Argentine Juan Román Riquelme, who guided Argentina to Olympic gold medal in Beijing and recently claimed the Argentine Apertura Championship with Boca Juniors.
Verón joined Estudiantes La Plata from Inter Milan in 2006 and his experience soon allowed him to take a leading role at the club.
Estudiantes finished third in the Clausura Championship earlier this year, and came in seventh in the Apertura which finished this month. More importantly, the club reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana but eventually lost to Brazilian outfit Internacional Porto Alegre.
"One is recognised not only by the people at a local level, but throughout the footballing world," Verón told radio Provincia.
"This prize arrives in a special moment of my life, because my objective is to always be the best in what I do, and I've always thought in this way."
In third place appeared last year’s winner Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabañas of Club America of Mexico.
Another Argentine, Andrés D’Alessandro came out in fourth place despite leading Internacional to the Copa Sudamericana title for the first time.
Liga de Quito goalkeeper José Cevallos rounded out the top five. Cevallos was the hero in his team's Copa Libertadores triumph when he stopped three penalties in the tournament final against Brazilian side Fluminense to claim their first-ever international title.
The award is restricted to South American footballers who are contracted to clubs on the continent and thus cannot be won by any of the South Americans playing in Europe.
However, Verón’s selection was controversial as he did not win any titles as compared to some of the players that ended up behind him in the results.
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The 33-year-old playmaker finished ahead of fellow Argentine Juan Román Riquelme, who guided Argentina to Olympic gold medal in Beijing and recently claimed the Argentine Apertura Championship with Boca Juniors.
Verón joined Estudiantes La Plata from Inter Milan in 2006 and his experience soon allowed him to take a leading role at the club.
Estudiantes finished third in the Clausura Championship earlier this year, and came in seventh in the Apertura which finished this month. More importantly, the club reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana but eventually lost to Brazilian outfit Internacional Porto Alegre.
"One is recognised not only by the people at a local level, but throughout the footballing world," Verón told radio Provincia.
"This prize arrives in a special moment of my life, because my objective is to always be the best in what I do, and I've always thought in this way."
In third place appeared last year’s winner Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabañas of Club America of Mexico.
Another Argentine, Andrés D’Alessandro came out in fourth place despite leading Internacional to the Copa Sudamericana title for the first time.
Liga de Quito goalkeeper José Cevallos rounded out the top five. Cevallos was the hero in his team's Copa Libertadores triumph when he stopped three penalties in the tournament final against Brazilian side Fluminense to claim their first-ever international title.
The award is restricted to South American footballers who are contracted to clubs on the continent and thus cannot be won by any of the South Americans playing in Europe.
However, Verón’s selection was controversial as he did not win any titles as compared to some of the players that ended up behind him in the results.
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