Portugal and Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been named FIFA World Player of the Year at a ceremony held by world football’s governing body. Barcelona’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi was second and Liverpool’s Spanish striker Fernando Torres third.Also on the shortlist for the prestigious award was Milan playmaker Kaka – winner of last year’s award – and Messi’s Barcelona team-mate Xavi, who was voted Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament by a UEFA panel.

Portugal winger Ronaldo, 23, won the honour for the first time after helping United win the Premier League, Champions League and Club World Cup.

The accolade also completed a hat-trick of top individual honours for Ronaldo, who had already won the football journalists’ Ballon d’Or trophy and the FIFPro World Player of the Year title voted for by his fellow professionals.

“It’s an overwhelming moment, very special,” said Ronaldo after receiving the award from Pele.

“I can say to my mother and sister, ‘let the fireworks off now’. It’s one of the most important moments in my life.”

Ronaldo is the first player based at an English club to win the FIFA award, which had previously gone only to footballers playing for Spanish or Italian sides.

“There may be no English players here but I believe it’s important for England that myself and Fernando Torres are here representing two English clubs,” said Ronaldo before the ceremony.

“It is a victory for the English fans as well because the Premier League is strong, even though we must not forget the leagues in Spain and Italy remain strong as well.”

The FIFA award is voted by the national team coaches and captains of the 208-member associations of world soccer’s governing body.

Ronaldo was voted in first place by 136 of the coaches and captains while 76 put Messi top.

The United player picked up 935 total points, ahead of 678 for Messi and 203 for Torres.

Brazilian striker Marta won the Women’s award for the third consecutive year, equaling the record of Germany’s Birgit Prinz, who finished second this time round with less than a third of the points (328) that Marta accrued (1,002). England’s Kelly Smith was fifth behind Cristiane and Nadine Angerer of Brazil and Germany respectively.

Cristiano Ronaldo factfile

* Born on February 5 1985 in Funchal, Madeira Ronaldo’s late father Jose Dinis Aveiro gave him the second given name Ronaldo in honour of former US president Ronald Reagan.

* He began attracting attention at the age of 10 and both Madeira’s top teams Maritimo and Nacional scouted him. He played his youth football at Nacional before joining Sporting Lisbon, arch-rivals to his boyhood favourites Benfica.

* The turning point in his career came in July 2003 when he impressed Manchester United’s players and manager Alex Ferguson with an outstanding performance against them when United came to play in the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon. He joined Manchester United shortly afterwards aged just 18 for £12.5 million.

* Since then Ronaldo has scored 102 goals for Manchester United in 264 matches for the club.

* The winger enjoyed a highly successful 2007-08 season, scoring 42 goals in all competitions as United won a Premier League and Champions League double.

* His exploits led to him becoming only the second player to win England’s Footballer of the Year in successive seasons and just the third Portuguese player to win the Ballon d’Or award after Eusebio in 1965 and Luis Figo in 2000.
[Reuter, Yahoo Sport]

Four members of the Spanish squad that won the country’s first major tournament in four decades made the list, which was based on performances during 2008 for club and country.

Narrowing things down to just 11 standout performers in domestic, continental and international action was no easy task. But here is our selection of the stars that rose to the top in 2008.

Goalkeeper

• Iker Casillas (Country: Spain, Club: Real Madrid). Casillas was inspirational at Euro 2008 and maintained his exceptional standards despite Real’s recent struggles.

Defenders

• Maicon (Brazil, Inter Milan). He is the best right back in the world and a pivotal figure for Inter. Fiery and competitive, Maicon is one of Serie A’s shining lights.

• Rio Ferdinand (England, Manchester United). Possibly the best defender on the planet, Ferdinand helped United to an English Premier League-UEFA Champions League double and shows no sign of letting his standards slip.

• Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, Manchester United). Vidic doesn’t get as many plaudits as teammate Ferdinand, but his technical excellence and consistency demands his inclusion in this team.

• Yuri Zhirkov (Russia, CSKA Moscow). Zhirkov made Europe sit up and take notice in the summer, with his powerful forward runs, crossing ability and resolute defensive skills.

Midfielders

• Cesc Fabregas (Spain, Arsenal). Fabregas held together an Arsenal team that was in danger of falling apart and was a key component of the brilliant Spain midfield at the Euros.

• Xavi (Spain, Barcelona). For years one of the most underrated players in Europe, the 28-year-old got the sort of attention he deserves with the Euro 2008 player of the tournament award.

• Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina, Inter Milan). Cambiasso provides an imposing barrier in front of the Inter back four and has put together the best individual year of his career.

Attackers

• Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United). Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Ronaldo will become an all-time legend like Pele and Maradona. A few more years like the one he compiled for United with 42 goals in ‘08 will help lift him up to that exalted status.

• Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona). The little man is thrilling to watch and just keeps getting better. The 21-year-old has all the tricks and skills to go with a fierce competitive spirit.

• Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool). Torres made a huge impact after joining Liverpool and is arguably now the most feared striker in world soccer.

(Sports.Yahoo.com)

You can practice these beginning skills at a local park, school, bike path, or simply around your house. Many big city in the United States provide training ground for mountain bikers and If you can, try to find a location with a steep hill.

Get a feel for your pedals

Practice moving your foot away from the pedal, first while sitting on your bike with one foot on the ground. Next, move on to releasing and replacing your foot while pedaling around for a bit. Those with toe clip and clip-less type foot pedals will want to spend a bit more time practicing to ride Mountain Bikes

Sit and spin for position

Simply sit on your bike and pedal around. You should keep your arms slightly bent. You should also adjust your seat height so your leg is 70 to 90 percent extended at the bottom of every stroke on the pedal.

Keep your body relaxed, as there will never be a position where you should have either your knees or your elbows locked.

Shifting gears

Get a feel for shifting gears with your bike. The higher gears are harder to pedal and will go faster while the lower gears are easier to pedal and will help you ascend hills. As you get to steeper hills, its best to shift before you get to the hill rather than while your on it.

Coasting
You should spend a bit of time coasting while standing on your pedals, without actually sitting on the seat. Keep your arms bent but don’t lock your knees. Now, try experimenting with shifting your body towards the rear end of the bike.

Pedal while standing

You should get as comfortable as you can with pedaling while standing on your bike. Try lifting yourself off the seat while standing on the pedals, then crank them around. You should try this in higher gears on flat ground then again in lower gears while on a hill.

Dropping down a curb

Try finding a curb where you can easily get to the
upper portion of it. Practice at a moderate speed, standing and coasting right off the curb from the
upper level to the lower level.

Try this at different speeds until it becomes second nature. Once you practice these techniques and get the
hang of them, you’ll be able to hit the trails feeling
comfortable on your mountain bike. Even though it
may take some getting used to, it’ll become second
nature before you know it.

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