Brazilian football player Ronaldinho poses after he received the trophy of World Player of the Year, during the FIFA World Player Gala ceremony, in Zurich, Monday. (AFP Photo)

ZURICH, Switzerland, Dec. 20--Brazil and Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho picked up his second successive World Player of the Year award from soccer’s governing body FIFA on Monday.
He is the third Brazilian to win the world and European player awards in the same year after Ronaldo in 1997 and 2002, and Rivaldo in 1999.
Ronaldinho picked up 956 points to comfortably beat Chelsea’s England midfielder Frank Lampard (306) in the FIFA vote by national coaches and captains around the world.
The Brazilian’s Barcelona teammate Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon finished in third place with 190 points, Reuters said.
“I would like to say thank you to all my teammates and national team because without them all I would not be here,“ Ronaldinho told the FIFA Gala, hosted at the lakeside opera house in snowy Zurich.
“I hope I can make people happy with what I do and I hope to be here again in a year’s time,“ he said, before being whisked back to Barcelona.
The 25-year-old Ronaldinho also won the inaugural FIFPro World Player of the Year award, selected by his fellow players, in September.
Ronaldinho enjoyed a hugely successful year, helping Barcelona win the Primera Liga title and featuring in Brazil’s Confederations Cup triumph in Germany.
“He will undoubtedly be one of the star turns at next year’s World Cup in Germany,“ FIFA said in a statement. Runner-up Lampard was magnanimous in defeat.
“I am not disappointed,“ he told reporters, calling his Brazilian opponent a deserved winner.
“For me he is the most exciting player and the player I enjoy watching the most in the world.“
The poll was based on the verdict of 159 international coaches and captains. Five points were awarded for a first place nomination, three for second and one for third.
Meanwhile, Brazil were named team of the year by soccer’s governing body FIFA at its annual gala on Monday after the world champions finished 44 points clear of their nearest rivals in the rankings.
The Confederations Cup champions accrued 840 points in 2005, having started the year as world number one and recorded 10 wins, four draws and two defeats.
The Czech Republic were second, improving on their ranking in 2004 by two places, FIFA said in a statement.
Ghana won the race for the best mover title, beating Ethiopia and Togo.

BERLIN, Dec. 20--SV Hamburg are the only German team to beat Bayern Munich this season and they hope to show it was not a one-off when the two teams meet in the last sixteen of the German Cup on Wednesday, AFP said.
At the end of September Hamburg defeated Bayern 2-0 at the AOL-Arena to end their run of 15 consecutive league wins but holders Bayern have home advantage this time around.
Indeed Bayern have won all 11 of their matches at the Allianz Arena--eight in the Bundesliga and three in the Champions League--so Hamburg are up against it.
“We have had 33 competitive matches already this season but we want to show Bayern what we have left,“ said Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten.
Hamburg lie second behind Bayern in the table, six points adrift, and Munich general manager believes defeating their main rivals would cap a perfect 2005.
“It’s good for us that the winter break is coming,“ Uli Hoeness said. “Some of our players have been looking tired for a while. If we can beat Hamburg in the cup, that will make it a perfect year.“
Hamburg, who last won the cup in 1987, will be without their Holland international star Rafael van der Vaart through injury while Bayern are missing Roy Makaay, Willy Sagnol and Martin Demichelis.
Werder Bremen, third in the Bundesliga, are another big gun in the draw and travel to Hannover on Wednesday.
Bremen have a good record in the cup lifting the trophy three times (1994, 1999, 2004) over the past 12 years.

ROME, Dec. 20--Controversial Lazio star Paolo Di Canio has been banned for one match after performing a Nazi salute to fans for the second week in succession.
The 39-year-old former Italian international was punished after making the gesture while he was substituted in his team’s 1-1 draw against Juventus at the Olympic Stadium here on Saturday.
Lazio were also fined 8,000 euros, the same amount they were ordered to pay last weekend for allowing their supporters to brandish neo-Nazi symbols during the Serie A match against Livorno, AFP reported.
Di Canio also made a Nazi salute at Livorno fans in that game but managed to escape censure.
Saturday’s incident was the third time this year that Di Canio had made the fascist gesture.
In March he was fined 10,000 euros for giving a Nazi salute at the end of the Rome derby two months earlier.
But he has cut a mercurial figure in a colorful career.
In 2001, he was awarded a fair-play award by FIFA for refusing to score an easy goal after the opposing goalkeeper suffered an injury.
Three years earlier, however, he served an 11-match ban for pushing over a referee during an English
league game.

SYDNEY, Australia, Dec. 20--Former world number one Martina Hingis will make her eagerly-awaited return to competitive tennis at next month’s Australian Hardcourt Championships, tournament organisers announced on Tuesday.
The five-times grand slam singles champion, who has been absent from the sport for three years with a string of foot, heel and ankle problems, will make her comeback at the Gold Coast tournament which begins on Jan. 1, Reuters reported.
“I’m very excited to be making my return to competitive tennis in Australia, I have always felt at home on the Australian courts,“ the Swiss said in a statement.
“I’m really looking forward to competing again and making my first trip to the Gold Coast.
“I know I’ll get some tough matches and it will allow me to get used to the Australian summer coming from the European winter, both of which will be helpful with my preparation for the Australian Open.“
The 25-year-old won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles crowns before her injury problems cut short her career in 2002.
Hingis enjoys an impressive record in Australia, having reached the Melbourne Park final six successive years from 1997 to 2002, winning it three times.
Australian Hardcourt Championships tournament director Liz Smylie was thrilled that Hingis chose to make her return at the Gold Coast event.
“Martina is a legend of women’s tennis and an unbelievable performer in Australia, making the final of the Australian Open six times,“ Smylie said.
“Given the amazing career that she’s already had, it’s hard to believe she’s still only 25-years-old.
“Time is definitely on her side and it’s an honour for the tournament to host her return to tennis.“

Australian spin bowler Shane Warne (r) watched by umpire Billy Doctrove sends down a delivery during the test match against South Africa in Perth, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

PERTH, Australia, Dec. 20--South Africa were struggling to avoid a heavy defeat in the opening test with Australia after losing two early wickets at the WACA on Tuesday.
The tourists started the final day on 85 for two, chasing a near-impossible 491 for an unlikely victory, but slumped to 140-4 by lunch and needing to survive the last two sessions to salvage a draw, Reuters reported.
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee made the initial breakthrough when he dismissed Herschelle Gibbs for 33 then Shane Warne removed Ashwell Prince for eight.
Jacques Rudolph batted through the entire morning session to remain undefeated on 40 with the new batsman Justin Kemp on one.
Gibbs fell with the total on 109 when Lee found a thick edge and Warne took a sharp, low catch at first slip, then Warne trapped Prince lbw 13 minutes before the interval.
Warne, extracting plenty of spin from the footmarks, had Prince in trouble from the outset of his innings. The South African survived two lbw appeals on three but his luck ran out on eight when he was struck in front by a big-turning leg-break.
South Africa’s hopes of getting a draw could rest with Rudolph, who was only called into the team as a late replacement for the injured Jacques Kallis.
He had resumed on 18 after AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith were dismissed in the final session on Monday and added just 22 with a disciplined display of defensive batting.

SINGAPORE, Dec. 20--Fernando Alonso became the youngest driver to win the Formula One world championship and, along with flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen, breathed new life into a sport strangled by years of Ferrari dominance, AFP said
But not content to sit on his laurels, the 24-year-old Alonso then stunned his Renault team by announcing that he would be joining McLaren after the 2006 season.
“It will be a new beginning for me and a tremendous challenge and from what I have heard about this exciting new partnership there is something to look forward to,“ said the Spaniard who was chased by McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen for the title in 2005.
“Obviously I will be sad to leave Renault but sometimes possibilities come along which are just too good to miss.“
In breaking the Ferrari and Michael Schumacher monopoly in the 2005 season, Alonso’s Renault injected much-needed fizz into a spectacle in danger of becoming flat.
With Raikkonen pushing hard, Alonso was made to wait till the third-last race of an enthralling season in Brazil before claiming a title he had been chasing since opening the campaign in Melbourne in March.
In the end, they both scored seven victories each.
Renault wrapped up the constructors’ title at the final race in Shanghai, with McLaren having to settle for second.
The decline of Ferrari was not the only shockwave running through the money-rich sport.
A fiasco at the United States Grand Prix in June badly tarnished the Formula One image, with 14 drivers boycotting the event amid safety concerns after Michelin brought incorrect tyres to Indianapolis.
Disgusted spectators pelted missiles at the remaining drivers from the three teams running Bridgestone tyres. Many walked away from the race demanding their money back.
By the end of the year, Michelin had announced that they would quit the sport at the end of the 2006 world championship.

ROME, Dec. 20--Inter Milan striker Obafemi Martins has extended his contract by two years to June 2010, the Serie A club announced on its website on Monday.
The 21-year-old Nigerian international, who joined Inter in 2002, has scored six goals in all competitions this season, reported Reuters.
He has also played a key role in Inter’s run of five Serie A wins in a row, with goals in Inter’s 3-2 derby victory over Milan eight days ago and another in their 4-0 drubbing of Reggina on Sunday.

Toronto Raptors guard Morris Peterson (r) drives against Orlando Magic guard DeShawn Stevenson during second half NBA action in Orlando, Florida, Monday. (Reuters Photo)

NEW YORK, Dec. 20--Morris Peterson hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left to lead the Toronto Raptors a 92-90 victory over the Orlando Magic in National Basketball Association play Monday in Orlando, Reuters reported.
Peterson scored 19 points for the Raptors, who are just 5-20 but have four wins on the road this season.
Chris Bosh also had 19 points and added 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who are 4-1 on the road in December and broke a three-game losing streak with the win.
“If you get an open look in this league, you’ve got to knock down the shot and we were knocking them down tonight,“ said Peterson.
The Raptors made nine-of-16 shots from beyond the arc and had five players in double figures, including Jalen Rose, who added 15 points.
Mike James added 13 points for Toronto, while Joey Graham chipped in with 11.
Steve Francis scored 20 points and Jameer Nelson added 14 for the Magic, who have lost seven of their last nine games.
Tony Battie added 13 points and hauled down nine rebounds for the Magic, who had six players in double-figures.
Orlando (9-13) shot 49 percent from the field, but made just one three-pointer in seven attempts.
In Memphis, Chauncey Billups scored 30 points and had nine assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Grizzlies 106-104 in double overtime.
Tayshaun Prince added 24 points for the Pistons, who improved to an NBA-best 19-3 with the win.
Pau Gasol scored 32 points and had 13 rebounds and Damon Stoudamire added 24 points for the Grizzlies.
In Boston, Ricky Davis scored 21 points and Paul Pierce added 19 as the Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors 109-98.
Troy Murphy scored 27 points and had 12 rebounds and Baron Davis added 24 points for the Warriors.
In Charlotte, Primoz Brezec scored 26 points as the Bobcats beat the Sacramento Kings 106-103 in overtime.
In Seattle, Rashard Lewis scored 30 points as the SuperSonics beat the Washington Wizards 111-101.

NEW YORK, Dec. 20--Kyle Boller threw three touchdown passes as the Baltimore Ravens routed the Green Bay Packers 48-3 Monday night in Baltimore.
Todd Heap caught two of the TD strikes from Boller and had nine catches for 110 yards to help the Ravens (5-9) roll over the hapless Packers (3-11).
“We did a great job on the offensive line,“ Boller said. “I give myself a B (grade). We just have to do this all the time.“
Baltimore led 24-3 at the half and was never threatened, with Boller winding up 19-for-27 for 253 yards, Reuters said.
Randy Hymes caught the other touchdown pass from Boller, a 13 yard reception in the second quarter, while Mark Clayton and Jamal Lewis each rushed for a touchdown.
Adalius Thomas scored on a 35-yard fumble recovery with 17 seconds left to close out the Ravens’ win with the most points in franchise history.
Lewis rushed for 105 yards on 22 carries for the Ravens, while Derrick Mason contributed five catches for 97 yards.
Matt Stover kicked a pair of field goals to complete Baltimore’s scoring.