Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o and Tunisian defender Hatem Trabelsi have been nominated for the ‘Golden Ball’ award for European Footballer of the Year. Eto’o, who plays for Real Mallorca in the Spanish La Liga and Trabelsi of Dutch giants Ajax, are among 50 nominees for one of the most prestigious prizes in world football.
But eyebrows have been raised over the omission of Shabani Nonda, the DR Congo striker who plays for Monaco.
He finished top of the scoring charts in France last season and had started the current campaign like a house on fire before injury ruled him out until next year.
The award, run by the highly-regarded France Football magazine, has only ever been won by an African player once since its inception in 1956.
Liberian legend George Weah took the honours in 1995 after a brilliant season with Italian Serie A side AC Milan.
The 2003 winner will be selected next month in the magazine’s annual poll of football journalists from around the world but it is unlikely to be Eto’o or Trabelsi.
Nine French internationals, including Arsenal’s Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry and Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane have also been short listed.
France and Italy have the most players on the list, followed by Brazil with five nominees and England with four.
