Premier League 10 Seasons Awards - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were a set of English football awards which marked the first 10 years of competition in the Premier League, the top-level domestic league competition

Sports league

League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...

of professional football in England

Football in England

Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...

. The awards celebrated the first decade of the Premier League, which was formed in 1992 when the 20 clubs of the old First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

resigned en-masse from The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. Awards were presented in a number of categories for both teams and individuals, covering the period from the inaugural 1992–93 season which kicked off in August 1992, through to the 2001–02 season, which ended in May 2002. The awards were decided using public voting through the Premier League website and by a 10-man panel of footballing experts, drawn from representatives of the Premier League, League Managers Association

League Managers Association

The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...

, Professional Footballers' Association

Professional Footballers' Association

The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....

, as well as the football television and radio commentators and presenters and football journalists. Voting ran from December 2002 to February 2003, with the Awards being announced through the month of April 2003. Around 750,000 football fans from 184 countries voted, in what the Premier League described as the "most widely subscribed fan awards ever held".

In the team categories, both a Domestic (British) and Overseas Team of the Decade was named, and from those two teams an Overall Team of the Decade was picked as: Peter Schmeichel

Peter Schmeichel

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...

, Gary Neville

Gary Neville

Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....

, Tony Adams

Tony Adams (footballer)

Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...

, Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...

, Denis Irwin

Denis Irwin

Denis Joseph Irwin is a former Irish football player who is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester United, where he established himself as one of the most important players in the United team that won a host of domestic and European trophies in his time there between 1990 and...

, David Beckham

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

, Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City....

, Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

, Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

, Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

and Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...

. The rest of the Domestic team were David Seaman

David Seaman

David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...

, Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce

Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...

, Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...

, Paul Ince

Paul Ince

Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...

and Michael Owen

Michael Owen

Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...

, while the rest of the Overseas team comprised Dan Petrescu

Dan Petrescu

Daniel Vasile Petrescu is a Romanian football manager and former player, currently the manager of Kuban Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League....

, Jaap Stam

Jaap Stam

Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...

, Fredrik Ljungberg

Fredrik Ljungberg

Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear...

, Roy Keane

Roy Keane

Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....

, Robert Pirès

Robert Pirès

Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...

and Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...

.

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

was named Domestic Player of the Decade and Overall Player of the Decade, and was also given the Outstanding Contribution to the FA Premier League Award, as well as being recognised with the Top Goalscorer Award for scoring the most goals in the decade, at 204 Premier League goals. Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

was named Overseas Player of the Decade. David Beckham

David Beckham

was awarded Goal of the Decade for his 60 yard goal against Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

in 1996, while Peter Schmeichel

Peter Schmeichel

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...

was awarded Save of the Decade for a reflex save of a John Barnes

John Barnes (footballer)

John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...

header in 1997. Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

manager Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

was named Manager of the Decade, also being recognised for the Most Coaching Appearances for his 392 games in charge throughout the decade.

The April 1996 4–3 defeat of Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

by Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

at Anfield

Anfield

Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...

was named as Match of the Decade, while the Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

's infamous 'I would love it' rant just over three weeks later was named Quote of the Decade. Lucas Radebe

Lucas Radebe

Lucas Valeriu Radebe is a former Leeds United and South African football player. During his career, Radebe was renowned for being a world-class centre back and a great ambassador for the sport....

was recipient of the Contribution to the Community award for his charitable efforts, Martin Tyler

Martin Tyler

Martin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...

was named as Commentator of the Decade, while a photograph of a Michael Owen

Michael Owen

miss against Manchester United in 1999 was named Photograph of the Decade. Les Ferdinand

Les Ferdinand

Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...

was recognised as scorer of the 10,000th Premier League goal, David Seaman

David Seaman

was credited as the goalkeeper with most clean sheets

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

in the league (130), and Gary Speed

Gary Speed

Gary Andrew Speed, MBE was a Welsh football player and manager. He was captain of the Wales national football team until he retired from international football in 2004 and he remains the most capped outfield player for Wales and the second overall, having appeared 85 times at senior level between...

was credited with the most league appearances (352).

Background

Football is the most watched sport in England, and the Premier League along with the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

are the two most prestigious English club football competitions. In 1991, league football in England underwent a major change, when the 22 teams in the First Division

Football League First Division

, the then top division of The Football League

The Football League

system, resigned en-masse to form the Premier League. Constituted as the Football Association Premier League Ltd, it remained as an official Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

(The FA) competition at the top of the 'Football Pyramid'

English football league system

The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...

, but it also now had commercial independence from the Football League, allowing it to negotiate a lucrative broadcasting deal with British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

, ultimately resulting in a rise in revenues and an increase in the number of foreign players in the league, increasing the profile of the league around the world.

Having been established on 20 February 1992, the new League began its inaugural season on 15 August 1992. From that inaugural 1992–93 season, the end of the 2001–02 season marked the end of the first decade of the Premier League.

After its creation, the Premier League carried on the traditional system of promotion and relegation

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

, which sees the exchange of teams between the lower division at the end of each season, based on finishing positions. The league consisted of 22 teams for its first three seasons, and was thereafter reduced to 20 teams at the end of the 1994–95 season, by virtue of one extra team being relegated and one less team being promoted.

In all, 34 teams competed in the Premier League's first decade, with only 9 teams managing to stay in the league for the full ten seasons – Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

, Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

, Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

, Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

, Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

, Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

and Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

. In that time, only three teams ever won the League title: Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

(seven), Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

(twice) and Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

(once). Manchester United were also the most successful team overall, only finishing outside of the top-two positions once. (See also:#First decade finishing positions by season)

According to the League's chief executive Richard Scudamore

Richard Scudamore

Richard Scudamore is currently Chief Executive of the F.A. Premier League, a position he has held since November 1999.-Biography:Scudamore attended Kingsfield School in Kingswood, Bristol, where he was Head Boy in his final year and which he left in 1977. He studied law at the University of...

, this first decade was a period which saw 113 million fans go to Premier League football matches to watch teams field players from 82 different countries. In this time over 1,000 Premier League goals were scored. The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were set up to celebrate these first ten years of the competition.

Awards process

The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were decided through a combination of selection by a panel of 10 football experts, and public voting. The 10 man panel consisted of Richard Scudamore

Richard Scudamore

, John Barnwell

John Barnwell

John Barnwell is an English former football player and manager. He was until recently the chief executive of the League Managers Association....

and Gordon Taylor (the chief executives of The Football Association Premier League Ltd, the League Managers Association

League Managers Association

The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...

and the Professional Footballers Association respectively), as well as the football television and radio commentators and presenters Barry Davies

Barry Davies

Barry George Davies MBE is a British sports commentator. He has covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.-Broadcasting career:...

, Mike Ingham

Mike Ingham

Mike Ingham, MBE is a British football commentator and broadcaster.-Early life:He grew up in Duffield and Quarndon , and attended The Herbert Strutt School in Belper, then a grammar school...

, Richard Keys

Richard Keys

Richard Keys is an English radio presenter best known for his time with British sports channel Sky Sports from 1991 until 2011. In February 2011, Keys along with fellow Sky presenter, Andy Gray signed with talkSPORT....

, Clive Tyldesley

Clive Tyldesley

Clive Tyldesley is an English sports commentator, who since 1998 has been the main football commentator for ITV. He has commentated on eleven Champions League finals, five FA Cup Finals and numerous World Cup and European Championship matches.-Career:Tyldesley was born in Radcliffe, Bury,...

and Bob Wilson, and two football journalists, Matt Dickinson of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

and Paul McCarthy of The People
The People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....

.

For the Awards chosen by public vote, the 10 man panel first selected a short-list of options from which the public could choose the final winners. The voting categories of British and Overseas Player of the Decade, British and Overseas Team of the Decade, as well as Goal, Match, Photograph, Save and Commentator of the Decade were posted on the Premier League website in December 2002. The short-list for the Match, Goal, Save and Commentator of the Decade were published on the BBC Sport

BBC Sport

BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...

website on 26 December 2002. Public votes were recorded by registration with and voting through the FA Premier League's official website, www.premierleague.com.

Clips of the short-listed Goals, Saves and Matches of the Decade were broadcast on television from Christmas Day, through the festive period and on dates in January, on Sky Sports

Sky Sports

Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...

' shows Soccer Saturday
Soccer Saturday
Gillette Soccer Saturday is a weekly television programme broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the football season. The programme updates viewers on the progress of association football games in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Saturday afternoons. The current host is...

and Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...

, ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's On The Ball
On The Ball (ITV television show)
On The Ball is a British ITV Saturday lunchtime television show about football, which ran as part of World of Sport in the 1980s, and as a stand-alone show from 1998 to 2004....

and The Premiership
The Premiership (TV series)
The Premiership was a television programme which showed highlights from the FA Premier League...

, and the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...

. Outside of the United Kingdom, the clips were also shown by international Premier League broadcasters, reaching 160 countries. Audio clips of the people short-listed for Commentator of the Decade were broadcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

in January. Voting was kept open until 17 February 2003, with the public able to change their votes until that time.

In addition to the award categories chosen by public voting, other 10 Seasons Awards were chosen that had been selected directly by the panel, such as the Outstanding Contribution award, while other awards were selected by the panel from a given short-list, such as the Contribution to the Community award As part of the final Awards announcements, a selection of statistical feats over the decade were also chosen for special recognition in the 10 Seasons Awards, such as Top Scorer.

When voting was closed, almost 750,000 fans from 184 countries had voted in the 10 Seasons Awards through the Premier League website. Thanks to the domestic and international television coverage of the nominees, the 10 Seasons Awards were believed by the Premier League to represent the "most widely subscribed fan awards ever held". (By way of comparison, in 2003 there were 191 recognised UN member states).

In a preview to announcing most of the Awards, the results of the Domestic and Overseas Teams of the Decade were announced on 6 April 2003. The bulk of the Awards were announced at a 10 Seasons Awards ceremony on Monday 14 April. Both Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

and Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

were in attendance to accept their respective Domestic and Overseas Player of the Decade Awards, with Cantona making a rare return to England from his home in Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

, France, having retired from football in 1997. The announcement of the final Award, for Overall Player of the Decade, was deferred until Sunday 27 April, coinciding with the annual Professional Footballers' Association

Professional Footballers' Association

The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....

Awards dinner in London. At the dinner, the Award was presented to Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

, as well as being named in the PFA Team of the Year

PFA Team of the Year

The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

for that year.

Teams of the Decade

The winning team selections in the Domestic (British) and Overseas Team of the Decade categories were announced in advance of the main awards, and from these two teams a single winning Overall Team of the Decade was announced as part of the main awards. The Overall Team contained five players from the Overseas team and six from the Domestic team.

Of all 22 players chosen for the Domestic and Overseas categories, Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce

was the only player not have been a capped

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

for his international team during the decade. In the Domestic team, only one non-England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

player was represented – Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

of Wales

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

, with no players chosen from Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

or Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

. All of the players selected in the Overseas team were from European national teams, with France

France national football team

The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...

being the most represented, with five players.

The teams were as follows:

Position	Domestic	Overseas	Overall
Goalkeeper	England David Seaman David Seaman David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...	Denmark Peter Schmeichel Peter Schmeichel Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...	Schmeichel Peter Schmeichel Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
Defenders Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....	England Gary Neville Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....	Romania Dan Petrescu Dan Petrescu Daniel Vasile Petrescu is a Romanian football manager and former player, currently the manager of Kuban Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League....	Neville Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
	England Tony Adams Tony Adams (footballer) Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...	Netherlands Jaap Stam Jaap Stam Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...	Adams Tony Adams (footballer) Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...
	England Steve Bruce Steve Bruce Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...	France Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...	Desailly Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...
	England Stuart Pearce Stuart Pearce Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...	Denis Irwin Denis Irwin Denis Joseph Irwin is a former Irish football player who is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester United, where he established himself as one of the most important players in the United team that won a host of domestic and European trophies in his time there between 1990 and...	Irwin Denis Irwin Denis Joseph Irwin is a former Irish football player who is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester United, where he established himself as one of the most important players in the United team that won a host of domestic and European trophies in his time there between 1990 and...
Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... s	England David Beckham David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...	Sweden Freddy Ljungberg Fredrik Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear...	Beckham David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
	England Paul Ince Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...	France Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City....	Vieira Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City....
	England Paul Scholes Paul Scholes Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...	Roy Keane Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....	Scholes Paul Scholes Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
	Wales Ryan Giggs Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...	France Robert Pires Robert Pirès Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...	Giggs Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
Strikers	England Alan Shearer Alan Shearer Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...	France Thierry Henry Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...	Shearer Alan Shearer Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
Strikers	England Michael Owen Michael Owen Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...	France Eric Cantona Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...	Cantona Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...

Domestic and Overall Player of the Decade, Outstanding Contribution to the League

English striker Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

was named Domestic Player of the Decade in the main 10 Seasons awards announcements, in addition to being given the Outstanding Contribution to the FA Premier League award. Two weeks later he was also named as the Overall Player of the Decade. In the first decade, Shearer played for Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

, and then Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

. Shearer has been described as a classic English centre-forward with great shooting power, a single-minded striker who could intimidate the defenders whose role was to stop him. In the words of the Premier League, he was "a striker without equal" in their first decade.

Shearer started his career as a professional footballer four years before the creation of the Premier League, signing for the top-division club Southampton

Southampton F.C.

in April 1988, and in the same year became the youngest player to score a Football League

The Football League

hat-trick at age 17. In July 1992, just before the inaugural Premier League season, Shearer moved to Blackburn

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

for a then domestic record transfer fee of £3.3m, making his début two days after his 22nd birthday. After scoring 31 league goals in the 1993–94 season in which Blackburn finished in second place, Shearer was named Player of the Year by the Football Writers' Association

Football Writers' Association

The Football Writers' Association is an association of England football journalists and correspondents writing for newspapers and agencies, founded in 1947....

in May 1994. The following season in 1994–95 Blackburn became League Champions for the first time in 81 years, and Shearer was voted the Players' Player of the Year

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football...

by the Professional Footballers' Association

Professional Footballers' Association

The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....

in April 1995. While coming to the end of his spell with Blackburn, in 1996 Shearer became the first player to score 100 Premier League goals.

After renewed interest from Manchester United, who initially tried to sign him before Blackburn, a 25 year old Shearer invoked a release clause in his Blackburn contract and moved to Newcastle United in July 1996 for a world football transfer record

World football transfer record

This is a list of the progression of the world association football transfer record when measured in British pounds.-See also:*Highest transfer fees*Progression of British football transfer fee record-Notes:...

of £15m. This nearly doubled the previous British record of £8.5m for Stan Collymore

Stan Collymore

Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...

a year earlier. Blackburn had refused Manchester United's offer, and although other interest had come from Italian club Juventus

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

and Bobby Robson

Bobby Robson

Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....

's Spanish club Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

, Shearer stated it was the lure of playing for his home town boyhood club and working with manager Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

that persuaded him to choose Newcastle, describing it as a "dream come true". Ironically, Shearer had had a two day trial with Newcastle at St James' Park

St James' Park

St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

in 1982, but they had rejected him without having struck a ball, having chosen to play him as a goalie. Shearer later joked in 2003 that the reason he did not join Manchester United was that in his talks with Alex Ferguson, he could not guarantee that Eric Cantona the Overseas Player of the Decade could be persuaded to let Shearer take penalty kicks. Shearer gained a second PFA Players' Player of the Year Award in April 1997, becoming just the second player to have received the PFA award twice, after Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes

Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

.

After the 2000 European Championships, Shearer had retired from international football with England

England national football team

, having been England captain since 1998, and having made his senior début in 1992. Shearer was awarded the OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

in the June 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours

Queen's Birthday Honours

The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...

. Still at Newcastle, in April 2002 at St James' Park

St James' Park

he became the first player to score 200 Premier League goals, while in November with a 'rocket' free kick, he became the first player to score 100 league goals for two different Premier League clubs, fittingly at Old Trafford

Old Trafford

Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

against Manchester United.

On receipt of his Premier League Domestic Player of the Decade award, Shearer stated:

I am genuinely humbled to be lifting the award when there are so many other players I have either played with or against that would have been extremely worthy recipients. To receive an award from a panel representing all the key football figures in the game, including the Professional Footballers Association, the League Managers Association and the media is one of the highest accolades I have ever had.

Overseas Player of the Decade

Frenchman Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

was voted as the Overseas Player of the Decade in the 10 Seasons Awards. Cantona won the award for a decade spanning 1992 to 2002 even though he retired in 1997, and during his playing career in the Premier League he had served an 8 month ban from football, for an infamous 'kung-fu' style attack on a spectator. For his playing contributions on the field during this decade however, he is remembered as a United Legend for his "outstanding play" and a "mercurial talent", one of Alex Ferguson's greatest players.

Despite already being well known for a club career in France, and having made 25 appearances for the French national team, Cantona had been considering retiring, until being signed by English top-division side Leeds United, and being part of their title winning side of the 1991–2 season, the last season before the breakaway of the Premier League clubs. Cantona joined Manchester United half way through the inaugural Premier League season, purchased from Leeds for £1.2 million, making his debut for Manchester United on 27 November 1992. His purchase from Leeds was described as "the final piece in Alex Ferguson's jigsaw", and was considered extremely good business, along with other arrivals Peter Schmeichel

Peter Schmeichel

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...

and Denis Irwin

Denis Irwin

. United won their first League title in nearly 30 years that season.

In his time at Manchester United, Cantona scored 82 goals in 185 appearances, and won the Premier League title four times in five years from 1993 to 1997, with United being pipped to the title by one point on the last day of the 1994–95 season by Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

, with Cantona having begun his ban from football in the run-in of that season, in March 1995.

In April 1994, Cantona was awarded the 1994 Professional Footballers' Association

Professional Footballers' Association

The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....

Players' Player of the Year

PFA Players' Player of the Year

The Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football...

Award by his fellow professionals, the first non-British player to do so. Cantona had been banned from March until October 1995 for aiming a flying kick at a spectator gesturing at him from the Palace crowd as he walked off the field after being sent off for a straight red card offence shortly after half time during a League game on Wednesday 25 January 1995 at Selhurst Park

Selhurst Park

Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...

against Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

. In April 1996, Cantona was awarded the Football Writers' Association

Football Writers' Association

The Football Writers' Association is an association of England football journalists and correspondents writing for newspapers and agencies, founded in 1947....

Footballer of the Year Award, for both his on-field contributions, and his exemplary behaviour following the Selhurst Park incident.

Cantona retired from football as the "undisputed King of Old Trafford

Old Trafford

" in May 1997, having captained United to the Premier League title.

Just before the 10 Seasons Awards launched, on 30 November 2002 Cantona became one of the 23 inaugural player inductees to the English Football Hall of Fame

English Football Hall of Fame

The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum, currently being relocated to Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become...

Goal of the Decade

The award for Goal of the Decade was given to Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

midfielder David Beckham

David Beckham

, for his goal against Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

at Selhurst Park

Selhurst Park

on 17 August 1996, the opening day of the 1996–97 league season. After goals from Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

on 25 minutes and Denis Irwin

Denis Irwin

on 58 minutes, Beckham's goal was the last of a 3–0 win for United in the last minute of normal time (90 minutes). Beckham's audacious 60-yard strike was made from 1 yard inside his own half (i.e. behind the half-way line)

Association football pitch

An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...

wide out on the right hand side of the pitch, and passed over the Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan

Neil Sullivan

Neil Sullivan is an English-born Scottish ex-international professional Association footballer. A goalkeeper, Sullivan currently plays for Doncaster Rovers after signing on a permanent basis from Leeds United at the end of the 2006–07 season, following two loan moves to Doncaster...

's head into the goal.

Nine other goals from seven players were short-listed for the public vote for Goal of the Decade:

Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Robert Atkinson is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League and Premier League for Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Manchester City, in La Liga for Real Sociedad, in Ligue 1 for Metz, in the Turkish Super League for Fenerbahçe, in Saudi...

Wimbledon 2–3 Aston Villa, Saturday 3 October 1992
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...

Southampton 2–1 Newcastle United, Sunday 24 October 1993
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...

Blackburn Rovers 3–2 Southampton, Saturday 10 December 1994
Tony Yeboah
Tony Yeboah
Anthony "Tony" Yeboah is a Ghanaian former footballer most noted for his time at European clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds United and Hamburger SV during the 1990s...

Wimbledon 2–4 Leeds United, Saturday 23 September 1995
Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...

Manchester United 5–0 Sunderland, Saturday 21 December 1996
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...

Leicester City 3–3 Arsenal, Wednesday 27 August 1997
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player....

West Ham United 2–1 Wimbledon, Sunday 26 March 2000
Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...

Arsenal 1–0 Manchester United, Sunday 1 October 2000
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...

Newcastle United 0–2 Arsenal, Saturday 2 March 2002

Beckham's goal won with 22% of the public vote, beating Bergkamp's goal against Newcastle into second place with 17%, and Le Tissier's strike for Southampton against Blackburn into third place with 11%.

Commenting on the goal at the time, Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

stated, "I've never seen it done, Everyone is scratching their heads in the dressing room to try and remember something similar. Pelé

Pelé

However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

in 1970 is the only one." Coincidentally, the goal was also Manchester United's 300th Premier League goal.

Save of the Decade

Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

's Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel

Peter Schmeichel

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...

was awarded the Save of the Decade Award, for a close range stop in an away game at St. James' Park against Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

, on 21 December 1997.

The save came on 24 minutes, when a cross

Cross (football)

In football, a cross is a delivery of a ball from either side of the field across to the front of the goal by applying various kicking techniques. A cross is there to provide a goal-scoring opportunity...

from deep on the left by Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce

was met with a "seemingly unstoppable" powerful goal bound header from John Barnes

John Barnes (footballer)

. Schmeichel dived to make a "stunning reflex save" from close range to palm the ball around his goal post. Manchester United eventually won what was a bad-tempered game 1–0, watched by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern

Bertie Ahern

Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....

. After the only goal was scored on 66 minutes by ex-Newcastle player Andy Cole, Schmeichel made another "reflex save of the highest order" with ten minutes remaining, this time from a diving header by Pearce.

On receiving the Award, Schmeichel said:

To be honest at the time I didn't think the save was that difficult. But when you look back at it, you can see I am off balance when he is heading the ball...I’ve seen the other nine saves that were short-listed for the award and I’m obviously extremely proud...To make such a save from John Barnes, who has always been one of my heroes, is fantastic for me.

Nine other saves by eight other goalkeepers had been short-listed for the public vote for Save of the Decade:

Shay Given
Shay Given
Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....

Sunderland 0–1 Newcastle United, Sunday 24 April 2002
Kasey Keller
Kasey Keller
Kasey Keller is a retired American soccer player who last played for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer....

Leicester City 2–0 Everton, Saturday 22 August 1998
Ludek Miklosko
Ludek Mikloško
Luděk "Ludo" Mikloško is a Czech retired football goalkeeper.-Career:Mikloško started his career in his native Czechoslovakia with Baník Ostrava...

West Ham United 1–1 Manchester United, Sunday 14 May 1995
Thomas Myhre
Thomas Myhre
Thomas Myhre is a Norwegian international football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Kongsvinger, having returned to Norwegian football in July 2007...

Everton 0–0 Liverpool, Saturday 17 October 1998
Shaka Hislop
Shaka Hislop
Neil Shaka Hislop, CM is a former professional football goalkeeper. The majority of his career was spent in the top division in England where he was a part of the Newcastle United team which finished second in the Premier League for two successive seasons under Kevin Keegan's first tenure...

Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 West Ham United, Monday 6 December 1999
Jerzy Dudek
Jerzy Dudek
Jerzy Henryk Dudek is a retired Polish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.After beginning his career in his home country, he went on to have successful spells in Netherlands and England, winning the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, appearing in 186 official games for the club over...

Liverpool 2–0 Charlton Athletic, Saturday 30 March 2002
Jussi Jääskeläinen
Jussi Jääskeläinen
Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen is a Finnish football goalkeeper, who plays for Bolton Wanderers.-Club career:Jääskeläinen was born in Mikkeli, and made his Veikkausliiga debut in Finland for MP Mikkeli in 1992, and became the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa where...

Manchester United 1–2 Bolton Wanderers, Saturday 20 October 2001
Peter Schmeichel Manchester United 2–2 Liverpool, Sunday 18 October 1992
David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...

Middlesbrough 1–6 Arsenal, Saturday 24 April 1999

Schmeichel's save won the award with 27% of the vote, beating another of his own saves into second with 20%, and placing Shay Given in third with 15%.

Match of the Decade

The award for Match of the Decade went to the fixture between Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

and Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

at Liverpool's home ground Anfield

Anfield

on Wednesday 3 April 1996, which ended 4–3 to Liverpool after a last minute winner from striker Stan Collymore

Stan Collymore

.
In the final stages of the 1995–96 FA Premier League season, Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

's Newcastle had seen a 12-point lead accumulated in the five months to January clawed back by April. By the time of this fixture, Newcastle stood in second place, three points behind Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

, with Roy Evans

Roy Evans

Roy Evans CBE was a Liverpool football player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.-Career:...

' Liverpool side also in contention for the League title. The game began with Liverpool gaining the lead on just 2 minutes, and in the following exchanges Newcastle went ahead twice and Liverpool drew back level twice, before Stan Collymore's last minute goal brought victory for Liverpool. A classic attacking encounter also characterised by some cavalier defending, the game was described as having been played at a breathtaking, breakneck pace for the entire 90 minutes. Manchester United ultimately won the title four points ahead of Newcastle, with Liverpool in third, seven points behind Newcastle.

Four other matches were short-listed for the public vote for Match of the Decade: Southampton

Southampton F.C.

6–3 Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

(Saturday 26 October 1996), Leicester City

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

3–3 Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

(Wednesday 27 August 1997), West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

5–4 Bradford City (Saturday 12 February 2000) and Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

3–5 Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

(Saturday 29 September 2001). The Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle game won the award with 49% of the public vote, beating the Tottenham Hotspur 3–5 Manchester United result into second place with 26% and the Southampton 6–3 Manchester United game into third with 16%.

Coincidentally, the next Premier League meeting of Liverpool at home to Newcastle, the following season on 10 March 1997, also finished 4–3.

Photograph of the Decade

A picture of the immediate reaction to a late miss by Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

striker Michael Owen

Michael Owen

against Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

, taken by photographer Phil Noble for the Press Association

Press Association

The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...

on 11 September 1999, was voted Photograph of the Decade.

On the day of the photograph, Liverpool, at their Anfield

Anfield

home, were playing United and after 45-minutes were 1-3 down after two own goal

Own goal

An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

s by Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher

James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...

(3' & 44'), and an 18th-minute goal from United striker Andy Cole. In the second half, Owen was introduced from the substitutes bench on 64 minutes, and within minutes Liverpool had clawed the game back to 2–3 with a goal from Patrik Berger

Patrik Berger

Patrik Berger is a retired Czech footballer. He has played in Czech Republic, Germany, and England. He is best remembered for his time at Liverpool....

. With ten minutes to go, Owen latched onto a deflected shot and slipped the ball through the United goalkeeper Massimo Taibi

Massimo Taibi

Massimo Taibi is a retired Italian football goalkeeper, who played for several clubs, mostly in Italy's Serie A, B, and C1.-Italy:...

's legs, which crept wide just past his left hand goalpost.

Liverpool supporter Noble took the photograph from the other end of the ground, capturing Owen and two team-mates, and most of fans in the famous Liverpool Kop End stand, holding their hands to their heads in anguish

Anguish

Anguish is a term used in philosophy, often as a translation from the German Angst. It is a paramount feature of existentialist philosophy, in which anguish is often understood as the experience of an utterly free being in a world with zero absolutes...

just after the crucial miss. The game ended in a 2–3 United victory, with no further goals.

Noble said of the photograph:

I saw Owen and the other two players put their head in their hands and fired thinking it would perhaps do as a dejection pic. To be honest, had it happened earlier in the game when I had more time and things were less frantic, I probably would have deleted it as you couldn't make out the faces on the crowd on the back of the camera, and it was only when I pulled it up on the laptop later that I realised what I had.

Commentator of the Decade

The Commentator of the Decade Award was presented to the sports commentator

Sports commentator

In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...

Martin Tyler

Martin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...

of Sky Sports

Sky Sports

, the Premier League's domestic live match broadcast partner for its first decade. Four other commentators had been short-listed for the public vote: Barry Davies

Barry Davies

Barry George Davies MBE is a British sports commentator. He has covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.-Broadcasting career:...

and John Motson

John Motson

John Walker Motson OBE ,AKA Motty, is an English football commentator on both television and radio as well a well known moter. He made his name as 'Moty' after he moted out the entire Huddersfield huddersfield cheerleaders team. writer.-Biography:The son of a Methodist minister, Motson was educated...

of BBC television, Alan Green and Mike Ingham

Mike Ingham

Mike Ingham, MBE is a British football commentator and broadcaster.-Early life:He grew up in Duffield and Quarndon , and attended The Herbert Strutt School in Belper, then a grammar school...

of BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

.

Tyler's first commentary was for London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...

in 1974. Tyler was involved with Sky Sports from its launch in 1991, having joined its predecessor The Sports Channel in 1990. Through commentating on Sky's live matches, by 2003 Tyler had become Sky's senior football commentator and "the voice of Premiership football".

On receipt of his award, Tyler said

I'd like to thank everybody who voted for me and express my gratitude to all my colleagues at Sky Sports. This award is as much for them as myself and reflects our approach to football. My job has also been made easier by the thousands of individuals within the game who've answered my daily requests for information with the attention and care that make this job so enjoyable.

In an interview given shortly after the awards, Tyler cited Kenneth Wolstenholme

Kenneth Wolstenholme

Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...

, Brian Moore

Brian Moore (commentator)

Brian Moore was a British sports commentator.-Early life:Moore was born in Gillingham, Kent and educated at the Cranbrook School, Kent, which was also the school of fellow commentators Peter West and Barry Davies....

and John Motson

John Motson

as his inspiration in his youth, and declared that the Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle match that was voted Match of the Decade in the awards was the best game he had commented on.

Quote of the Decade

The quote of "I would love it if we beat them. Love it!", declared live on television by Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

manager Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

on 29 April 1996, was chosen as Quote of the Decade. Keegan was speaking about Newcastle's Premier League title rivals Manchester United, in the closing stages of the 1995–96 season, a couple of weeks after the events of the 3 April Liverpool v Newcastle game adjudged to be the Match of the Decade.

Going into the penultimate weekend of the season (27/28/29 April), the race for the title was now just between Manchester United and Newcastle, and both teams had won 1–0 at home in mid-week on Wednesday 17 April, Manchester United against Leeds, Newcastle against Southampton. Manchester United were now top with 76 points with two games to play, with Newcastle three points behind, but with a game in hand.

Following their win against Leeds on Wednesday, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had suggested after that match that the Leeds team were "cheating" their manager by trying harder against Manchester United (with whom they had a noted rivalry) compared to when they played other teams. This was interpreted as an attempt by Ferguson to get the Leeds team to play better against Newcastle, who were due to play them in their next match on Monday 29 April.

In that penultimate weekend of the season, Manchester United demolished Nottingham Forest 5–0 at home on Sunday 28 April extending their lead to 6 points and putting the pressure on Newcastle for their game away to Leeds at their Elland Road

Elland Road

Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...

ground. In the game, Leeds did appear to up their game, but Newcastle still won 1–0. After the game however, live on Sky Sports

Sky Sports

an 'emotional' Keegan made his speech, pointing his finger to the camera:

Some of the things that have been said in the last few days have been almost slanderous, I think you should send a tape of that [match] to Alex Ferguson. That's what he wanted, isn't it? You don't say what Alex said about Leeds, you don't say that in football. He's gone down in my estimation. Football in this country is honest."..."I would love it if we beat them [Manchester United], love it. The battle is still on, they have not won it yet.

Although Newcastle won the game and could still become League champions depending on the outcome of their next two games and Manchester United's last game, Keegan's rant was interpreted the day after as signalling that Keegan had already lost the psychological 'mind games'

Psychological manipulation

Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...

with Ferguson. Manchester United eventually won the title by four points, after Newcastle drew their remaining two games 1–1, and Manchester United beat Middlesbrough 3–0 away.

Keegan's quote narrowly beat Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

of Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

to the Quote of the Decade award after his famous 'sardines' quote. Cantona had made this quote to a press conference following his conviction of assaulting a Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

fan during a match in 1995, where his only comment was simply to declare: "when the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea", much to the puzzlement of all assembled.

The quote was also voted 17th in the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments from 1936 to 2001, by visitors to the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

website.

Manager of the Decade

The Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

manager

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

was awarded the Manager of the Decade Award, having been in charge of all 392 of their games for the entire decade.

After a playing career in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, by the time of his move to Manchester United in November 1986, Alex Ferguson was already a recognised successful football manager in Scotland, having got St. Mirren

St. Mirren F.C.

St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...

promoted to the Scottish Premier Division

Scottish Football League Premier Division

The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system...

from the Scottish First Division

Scottish Football League First Division

The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....

as champions in the 1976–7 season, and going on to win several domestic

Football in Scotland

Association football is the national sport in Scotland and highly popular throughout the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of these include carrying the ball and passing by hand, and despite...

and European trophies

European football

European football is a colloquial term referring to any international football club competition that is organised by UEFA. Any club that wishes to participate in European football must qualify through their respective domestic league or domestic cup competitions...

from 1980 to 1986 with Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

, and being awarded the OBE

Order of the British Empire

in 1984.

After winning some domestic English cup competitions with United from 1990, Ferguson guided United to their first League title in almost 30 years in 1993, becoming the inaugural Premier League Champions. In the first decade of the Premier League, Ferguson presided over 244 Premiership victories from 392 games, with the team setting records for winning and unbeaten streaks, and winning a total of 7 Premier League titles.

After guiding United to Premier League and FA Cup

FA Cup

Double

The Double

The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...

in their 1993–4 season, Ferguson was made a CBE

Order of the British Empire

in the 1995 New Year Honours

New Year Honours

The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...

. After his unprecedented Treble

The Treble

The term treble or Treble is used in association football to refer to a team winning three trophies in a single season. Honours usually considered to contribute to a treble are the top-tier domestic league competition, domestic cup competitions, and continental tournaments; although this depends to...

of their 1998–9 season, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, Ferguson was made a Knight Bachelor

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours

Queen's Birthday Honours

for services to football, making him 'Sir Alex Ferguson'. Towards the end of the opening decade of the Premier League, Ferguson was awarded the League Managers Association

League Managers Association

The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...

Manager of the Decade Award in 1999, and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime". The winner is...

in 2001. Just before the 10 Seasons Awards launched, on 30 November 2002 Sir Alex become one of the six inaugural managerial inductees to the English Football Hall of Fame

English Football Hall of Fame

Contribution to the Community

South African defender Lucas Radebe

Lucas Radebe

Lucas Valeriu Radebe is a former Leeds United and South African football player. During his career, Radebe was renowned for being a world-class centre back and a great ambassador for the sport....

was the recipient of a Contribution to the Community Award in the 10 Seasons Awards. The Award "recognises the player who has done most to use his position as a professional footballer to make a difference to people's lives." Radebe was selected by the judges panel from a short-list which also included Warren Barton

Warren Barton

Warren Dean Barton is a former English football player and a TV Pundit for Fox Soccer Channel.-Club career:...

, John Barnes

John Barnes (footballer)

, Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...

, Bryan Gunn

Bryan Gunn

Bryan James Gunn is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which he came to be most closely associated...

, Gary Mabbutt

Gary Mabbutt

Gary Mabbutt MBE is an English former professional footballer who made more than 600 appearances in the Football League and Premier League playing for Bristol Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur, and won 16 caps for the England national team. He was most regularly seen in central defence but was a...

, Chris Powell

Chris Powell

Christopher George Robin "Chris" Powell is an English football manager and retired player, who had a long career as a left back, crowned by five caps for the English national team...

, Niall Quinn

Niall Quinn

Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...

, David Unsworth

David Unsworth

David Gerald Unsworth is an English former footballer who played in the position of centre-back or left-back, and is currently first team coach at Preston North End....

and Tommy Wright

Tommy Wright

Thomas James Wright is a former footballer.-Club career:He joined Everton as an apprentice in 1964 and made 373 appearances at right back and scored four goals...

.
Radebe joined Premier League side Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

in September 1994 from South African club Kaizer Chiefs, becoming Leeds captain in 1998, and captaining the South African national team

South Africa national football team

The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in...

in the 1998

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

and 2002

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

World Cup tournaments. Radebe was selected "in recognition of his achievement of making a real difference to people's lives in communities" in both Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

and South Africa, having worked on anti-racism and literacy projects in Leeds, and having worked in South Africa helping children through FIFA's part in the SOS Children's Villages

SOS Children's Villages

SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental international development organisation which has been working to meet the needs and protect the interests and rights of children since 1949. It was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Imst, Austria...

campaign, as well as combating HIV/AIDS in South Africa

HIV/AIDS in South Africa

HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a prominent health concern because South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country....

with the Starfish Greathearts Foundation

Starfish Greathearts Foundation

Starfish Greathearts Foundation is an international non-governmental organization formed in response to the tragedy of children orphaned or left vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa. Its mission is to help make a difference to the lives of these children through community based...

. Radebe's 10 Seasons Contribution to the Community award followed his receipt of the FIFA Fair Play Award

FIFA Fair Play Award

The FIFA Fair Play Award is a FIFA recognition of good or sporting behaviour or other actions by people or bodies involved in :association football around the world. First awarded in 1987, it has been presented to individuals , teams, fans, spectators, football associations/federations and even...

in December 2000, for his fair play on the field and work in anti-racism and children's initiatives off the field.

On receipt of his Contribution to the Community Award, Radebe said:

I have been fortunate to be involved with our anti-racism, educational, social and charitable initiatives and this award not only reflects my efforts but those of the many people connected with Leeds United. For me football equals community. I have seen the way our sport has acted as a vehicle for change. Having achieved a level and status as a professional player in the Premier League and in South Africa, means I have been lucky enough to have been in a position to make a difference

Dave Richards

Sir Dave Richards is the chairman of the FA Premier League, member of the Football Association 's Board, chairman of the FA's international committee, president of the European Professional Football Leagues organisation, chairman of UEFA's Professional Football Committee and former chairman of...

, chairman of the Premier League stated: "Lucas Radebe has done ample to deserve this accolade and is an example for us all to follow as someone who has not just worked hard for the people of Leeds, but has also found the time and energy to help the communities of his homeland." Congratulations and plaudits to Radebe following the Award were also made by FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

President Sepp Blatter

Sepp Blatter

Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...

, UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

chief executive Gerhard Aigner

Gerhard Aigner

Gerhard Aigner is a retired football executive. Aigner became in 1989 General Secretary of UEFA. The position of the General Secretary was renamed to Chief Executive in 1999. He retired from the post at the end of 2003.-References:...

, the UK Minister for Sport Richard Caborn

Richard Caborn

Richard George Caborn PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central from 1983 to 2010...

and Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association

Professional Footballers' Association

The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....

Other statistical recognitions

The 10 Seasons Awards also recognised a number of statistical feats achieved during the decade, in the following categories:

Most Appearances: Gary Speed
Gary Speed
Gary Andrew Speed, MBE was a Welsh football player and manager. He was captain of the Wales national football team until he retired from international football in 2004 and he remains the most capped outfield player for Wales and the second overall, having appeared 85 times at senior level between...

was recognised for having made the most appearances in the first decade of the Premiership. While playing for Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

, Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

and Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

, Speed appeared 352 times out of a possible 392.

Goalkeeper with most clean sheets: David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...

was recognised in the awards for being the goalkeeper with the best record for keeping the most clean sheets
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

, i.e. the number of games played without conceding a goal in his own net. Seaman recorded 130 clean sheets during the decade, all while at Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

At the time of the awards Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...

, on picking up his Goalkeeper of the Decade at the Awards, praised Seaman as the current in-form goalkeeper of the Premier League.

Most Coaching Appearances: Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

, the manager of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, was recognised for having made the most appearances as a coach (manager) in the League. Ferguson took charge of 392 matches in all over the decade, all for United.

10,000th Goal: The striker Les Ferdinand
Les Ferdinand
Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...

was recognised for having scored the 10,000th goal of the Premier League's first decade. He scored it on Saturday 15 December 2001 in a game for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

against Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....

. Ferdinand's goal on 20 minutes was the first of an eventual 4–0 win for Tottenham with further goals coming from Darren Anderton
Darren Anderton
Darren Robert Anderton is a retired English footballer who spent most of his career with Tottenham Hotspur as a midfielder. He played 30 times for the England national football team, scoring 7 goals.-Career:...

, Simon Davies and Sergei Rebrov
Serhiy Rebrov
Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov is a retired Ukrainian football forward turned midfielder, currently assistant coach at Dynamo Kyiv reserves team. Rebrov gained international fame as an attacking partner of Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kyiv throughout the 1990s and remains top all-time scorer of the...

. At the time, Ferdinand received a £10,000 prize to give to the charity of his choice.

Top Goalscorer: Striker Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

was recognised for having scored the most goals in the Premier League's first decade. While at Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

and then Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

, Shearer scored a total 204 Premier League goals between 1992 and 2002. Commenting at the time, Shearer stated that "It's helped having decent players around me. This has made my job easier." On retiring in 2006, Shearer has scored a total of 260 Premier League goals (the League record), and 283 career League goals when including the old First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

.

Reception

Dominic Raynor writing for ESPNsoccernet

ESPNsoccernet

ESPN Soccernet is a website that provides comprehensive coverage of world football . Complete football information includes scores, statistics, and features of worldwide football.-History:...

wrote of the awards that "it is with some justification that the Premier League are celebrating their ten year anniversary this season with much back slapping and lavish distinction", crediting the Premier League with having evolved and improved the state of English football from a tarnished image, and established the competition as "one of the best leagues in the world", adding that "while it may be behind Spain's Primera Liga

La Liga

The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

in terms of quality its pacy, physical style has been branded as the most exciting".

James Lawton writing for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

said that "there is surely a need for at least one cry of indignation over the [Premier League's] increasing habit of trying to make instant history." He described the 10 Season Awards artificial separation of the first decade of the Premier League from the rest of English football history as "nonsense", comparing Shearer's goalscoring record to that of Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy Greaves

James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit -...

and Dixie Dean

Dixie Dean

William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...

and the Team of the Decade to other potential teams from previous decades, concluding "In its relentless self-aggrandisement, the Premiership only invites harsh comparisons".

The exclusion of Roy Keane

Roy Keane

from the Overall Team of the Decade (while being included in the Overseas team) was criticised by some media outlets, and was a "surprise" to his former team-mate and Overseas Player of the Decade Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

First decade finishing positions by season

Club	Premier League seasons	Highest Finishing Position	92/3	93/4	94/5	95/6	96/7	97/8	98/9	99/0	00/1	01/2
Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...	10	1	10	4	12	5	3	1	2	2	2	1
Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	10	2	2	10	18	4	5	7	6	6	8	8
Barnsley Barnsley F.C. Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...	1	19						19
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....	8	1	4	2	1	7	13	6	19			10
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....	3	16				20		18				16
Bradford City Bradford City A.F.C. Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....	2	17								17	20
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...	3	9							18		9	14
Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...	10	3	11	14	11	11	6	4	3	5	6	6
Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...	9	11	15	11	16	16	17	11	15	14	19
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...	3	19	20		19			20
Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...	6	8					12	9	8	16	17	19
Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	10	6	13	17	15	6	15	17	14	13	16	15
Fulham Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...	1	13										13
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....	5	5	16	19	22						5	18
Leeds United Leeds United A.F.C. Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...	10	3	17	5	5	13	11	5	4	3	4	5
Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...	7	8			21		9	10	10	8	13	20
Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	10	2	6	8	4	3	4	3	7	4	3	2
Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...	5	3	3	16	17	18					18
Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...	10	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	3
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...	7	9	21			12	19		9	12	14	12
Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...	9	2		3	6	2	2	13	13	11	11	4
Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...	3	3	3	12	20
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...	5	3	22		3	9	20		20
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic A.F.C. Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...	2	19	19	21
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...	4	5	5	9	8	19
Sheffield United Sheffield United F.C. Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...	2	14	14	20
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...	8	7	7	7	13	15	7	16	12	19
Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...	10	10	18	18	10	17	16	12	17	15	10	11
Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...	4	7					18			7	7	17
Swindon Town Swindon Town F.C. Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...	1	22		22
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	10	7	8	15	7	8	10	14	11	10	12	9
Watford Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...	1	20								20
West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...	9	5		13	14	10	14	8	5	9	15	7
Wimbledon Wimbledon F.C. Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...	8	6	12	6	9	14	8	15	16	18

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