Special report: 2006 FIFA World Cup

    BERLIN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- At the FIFA World Cup, the greatest, most-coveted prize is, was and always shall be the Trophy itself. However, every edition of the game's global showpiece has its heroes in the shape of players and teams whose contributions cry out for some sort of recognition.

    After all, some of the most indelible images in the tournament's history have been provided by the likes of Eusebio, Johan Cruyff and "Toto" Schillaci, none of whom were ever able to lay their hands on a winner's medal, and many of the teams who thrilled us over the years won little other than the football public's affection.

    This was also true at Germany 2006. The array of awards reflected that it was players such as Lukas Podolski and Zinedine Zidane who captured the imagination and that, while Spain and Brazil left without the Trophy, they returned home with plenty of new friends.

    FIFA Fair Play award - Brazil & Spain

    They might have seen their hopes of lifting the Trophy dashed at a premature stage, but Brazil and Spain did not return home empty-handed, with each of their players picking up medals for their record of sportsmanship and good conduct during Germany 2006. This particular award is decided using a points system established by the FIFA Committee for Ethics and Fair Play, and the FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) named Carlos Alberto Parreira and Luis Aragones's sides as joint-winners after they picked up a shared total of 886 from the 1,000 available.