Asian Footballer of the Year

The Asian Footballer of the Year award is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year.

History

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A football handbook took a poll about who was the best Asian footballer in 1985, and this poll is regarded as the origin of the Asian footballer award.[1][2] However, it was not a selection of clear process or official organization, and is generally excluded from the list.[3][4] The award began in 1988 through International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) with sport magazines and journalists, then the presenter was changed to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1994.[3][4]

Since 2005, the award gives its qualification to nominees who attend the awards ceremony, and so the rule caused much controversy about excluding players who could not attend the ceremony by playing for European clubs.[5][6][7][8][9] Among them, Park Ji-sung and Shunsuke Nakamura were nominated for Ballon d'Or. The AFC is awarding the "Asian International Player of the Year" award to reduce the controversy since 2012, but AFC awards were still having problems that the process and criteria of selection were obscure. Eventually, the "Best Footballer in Asia" award inspired by Ballon d'Or was made in 2013.[10]

When continental confederations including AFC cancelled their awards ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IFFHS restarted to select the Players of the Year about the world and each continent.

Winners

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IFFHS award

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Son Heung-min won the IFFHS Asian Player of the Year award in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The IFFHS Asian Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). It had originally been the predecessor of the AFC Player of the Year, but was revived in 2020.

Year Rank Player Team Points Ref.
1988 1st   Ahmed Radhi   Al-Rasheed 26 [3]
2nd   Kim Joo-sung   Daewoo Royals 16
3rd   Majed Abdullah   Al Nassr 14
1989 1st   Kim Joo-sung   Daewoo Royals 38 [3]
2nd   Majed Abdullah   Al Nassr 12
3rd   Ahmed Radhi   Al-Rasheed 6
1990 1st   Kim Joo-sung   Daewoo Royals 36 [3]
2nd   Farshad Pious   Persepolis 28
3rd   Adnan Al-Talyani   Al-Shaab 16
1991 1st   Kim Joo-sung   Daewoo Royals 31 [11]
2nd   Chung Yong-hwan   Daewoo Royals 28
3rd   Samad Marfavi   Esteghlal 16
1992 1st   Kazuyoshi Miura   Verdy Kawasaki 30 [3][12]
2nd   Fahad Al-Bishi   Al Nassr 17
3rd   Mehdi Fonounizadeh   Esteghlal 13
Not awarded from 1993 to 2019
2020 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [13]
  Sardar Azmoun   Zenit Saint Petersburg
  Takumi Minamino   Liverpool
2021 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [14]
2022 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [15]

AFC award

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Hidetoshi Nakata won the AFC Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998.
 
Server Djeparov won the AFC Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2011.
 
Akram Afif won the AFC Player of the Year award in 2019 and 2023.

The AFC Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is awarded to the Asian player who has the best performance at AFC club(s) in a calendar year.

Year Rank Player Team Ref.
1994 1st   Saeed Owairan   Al Shabab [3]
1995 1st   Masami Ihara   Yokohama Marinos [3]
1996 1st   Khodadad Azizi   Bahman [3]
  Ali Daei   Al Sadd
  Ko Jeong-woon   Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma
  Mohamed Al-Deayea   Al-Tai
  Yousuf Al-Thunayan   Al Hilal
1997 1st   Hidetoshi Nakata   Shonan Bellmare [3]
  Choi Yong-soo   Sangmu FC
  Karim Bagheri   Arminia Bielefeld
  Khodadad Azizi   1. FC Köln
1998 1st   Hidetoshi Nakata   Perugia [3]
  Ali Daei   Bayern Munich
  Fan Zhiyi   Crystal Palace
  Jasem Al Huwaidi   Al-Salmiya
1999 1st   Ali Daei   Hertha BSC [3]
  Bashar Abdullah   Al-Salmiya
  Hidetoshi Nakata   Perugia
  Hwang Sun-hong   Cerezo Osaka
  Masashi Nakayama   Júbilo Iwata
  Sun Wen[note 1]   Shanghai SVA
2000 1st   Nawaf Al-Temyat   Al Hilal [3]
  Hiroshi Nanami   Júbilo Iwata
  Lee Dong-gook   Pohang Steelers
  Ryuzo Morioka   Shimizu S-Pulse
2001 1st   Fan Zhiyi   Dundee [3]
  Abdullah Al-Shehan   Al Shabab
  Ali Karimi   Al Ahli
  Li Tie   Liaoning Fushun Tegang
  Mirjalol Qosimov   Krylia Sovetov Samara
2002 1st   Shinji Ono   Feyenoord [3]
  Ahn Jung-hwan   Perugia
  Junichi Inamoto   Fulham
  Li Tie   Everton
2003 1st   Mehdi Mahdavikia   Hamburger SV [3]
  Maxim Shatskikh   Dynamo Kyiv
  Therdsak Chaiman   BEC Tero Sasana
2004 1st   Ali Karimi   Al Ahli [3]
  A'ala Hubail   Al-Ahli
  Shunsuke Nakamura   Reggina
2005 1st   Hamad Al-Montashari   Al-Ittihad [16]
2nd   Maxim Shatskikh[note 2]   Dynamo Kyiv
2006 1st   Khalfan Ibrahim   Al Sadd [17]
  Bader Al-Mutawa   Qadsia
  Mohammad Al-Shalhoub   Al Hilal
2007 1st   Yasser Al-Qahtani   Al Hilal [18]
  Nashat Akram   Al Ain
  Younis Mahmoud   Al-Gharafa
2008 1st   Server Djeparov   Bunyodkor [19]
  Ismail Matar   Al Wahda
  Sebastián Soria   Qatar SC
  Yasuhito Endō   Gamba Osaka
  Yuji Nakazawa   Yokohama F. Marinos
2009 1st   Yasuhito Endō   Gamba Osaka [20]
2nd   Kengo Nakamura[note 3]   Kawasaki Frontale
  Sayed Mohamed Adnan[note 3]   Al-Khor
2010 1st   Saša Ognenovski   Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma [21]
  Bader Al-Mutawa   Qadsia
  Farhad Majidi   Esteghlal
  Farshid Talebi   Zob Ahan
  Hussain Salman   Al-Riffa
2011 1st   Server Djeparov   Al Shabab [22]
2nd   Hadi Aghily[note 2]   Al-Arabi
2012 1st   Lee Keun-ho   Ulsan Hyundai [23]
  Ali Karimi   Persepolis
  Zheng Zhi   Guangzhou Evergrande
2013 1st   Zheng Zhi   Guangzhou Evergrande [24]
  Ha Dae-sung   FC Seoul
  Javad Nekounam   Esteghlal
2014 1st   Nasser Al-Shamrani   Al Hilal [25]
  Ismail Ahmed   Al Ain
  Khalfan Ibrahim   Al Sadd
2015 1st   Ahmed Khalil   Al Ahli [26]
  Omar Abdulrahman   Al Ain
  Zheng Zhi   Guangzhou Evergrande
2016 1st   Omar Abdulrahman   Al Ain [27]
  Hammadi Ahmed   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
  Wu Lei   Shanghai SIPG
2017 1st   Omar Kharbin   Al Hilal [28]
  Omar Abdulrahman   Al Ain
  Wu Lei   Shanghai SIPG
2018 1st   Abdelkarim Hassan   Al Sadd [29]
  Kento Misao   Kashima Antlers
  Yuma Suzuki   Kashima Antlers
2019 1st   Akram Afif   Al Sadd [30]
  Alireza Beiranvand   Persepolis
  Tomoaki Makino   Urawa Red Diamonds
Not awarded from 2020 to 2021
2022 1st   Salem Al-Dawsari   Al Hilal [31]
  Almoez Ali   Al-Duhail
  Mathew Leckie   Melbourne City
2023 1st   Akram Afif   Al Sadd [32]
  Seol Young-woo   Ulsan HD
  Yazan Al-Naimat   Al Ahli

AFC award (international)

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Son Heung-min won the AFC Asian International Player of the Year award in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023.

The AFC Asian International Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is awarded to the Asian player who has the best performance outside Asia in a calendar year.

Year Rank Player Team Ref.
2012 1st   Shinji Kagawa   Manchester United [33]
  Mark Schwarzer   Fulham
  Yuto Nagatomo   Internazionale
2013 1st   Yuto Nagatomo   Internazionale [34]
  Keisuke Honda   CSKA Moscow
  Son Heung-min   Bayer Leverkusen
2014 1st   Mile Jedinak   Crystal Palace [35]
  Ki Sung-yueng   Swansea City
  Tim Cahill   New York Red Bulls
2015 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [36]
  Ki Sung-yueng   Swansea City
  Massimo Luongo   Queens Park Rangers
2016 1st   Shinji Okazaki   Leicester City [37]
  Shinji Kagawa   Borussia Dortmund
  Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur
2017 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [38]
  Aaron Mooy   Huddersfield Town
  Shinji Kagawa   Borussia Dortmund
2018 1st   Makoto Hasebe   Eintracht Frankfurt [39]
2019 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [40][41]
  Makoto Hasebe   Eintracht Frankfurt
  Sardar Azmoun   Zenit Saint Petersburg
Not awarded from 2020 to 2021
2022 1st   Kim Min-jae   Napoli [42]
  Kaoru Mitoma   Brighton & Hove Albion
  Mehdi Taremi   Porto
2023 1st   Son Heung-min   Tottenham Hotspur [43][44]
  Mehdi Taremi   Porto
  Musa Al-Taamari   Montpellier

Statistics

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Wins by player

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Player Wins Years won
  Son Heung-min 7 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  Kim Joo-sung 3 1989, 1990, 1991
  Hidetoshi Nakata 2 1997, 1998
  Server Djeparov 2 2008, 2011
  Akram Afif 2 2019, 2023
  Ahmed Radhi 1 1988
  Kazuyoshi Miura 1 1992
  Saeed Owairan 1 1994
  Masami Ihara 1 1995
  Khodadad Azizi 1 1996
  Ali Daei 1 1999
  Nawaf Al-Temyat 1 2000
  Fan Zhiyi 1 2001
  Shinji Ono 1 2002
  Mehdi Mahdavikia 1 2003
  Ali Karimi 1 2004
  Hamad Al-Montashari 1 2005
  Khalfan Ibrahim 1 2006
  Yasser Al-Qahtani 1 2007
  Yasuhito Endō 1 2009
  Sasa Ognenovski 1 2010
  Lee Keun-ho 1 2012
  Shinji Kagawa 1 2012
  Yuto Nagatomo 1 2013
  Zheng Zhi 1 2013
  Mile Jedinak 1 2014
  Nasser Al-Shamrani 1 2014
  Ahmed Khalil 1 2015
  Omar Abdulrahman 1 2016
  Shinji Okazaki 1 2016
  Omar Kharbin 1 2017
  Abdelkarim Hassan 1 2018
  Makoto Hasebe 1 2018
  Kim Min-jae 1 2022
  Salem Al-Dawsari 1 2022

Wins by nationality

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Country Wins
  South Korea 12
  Japan 10
  Saudi Arabia 6
  Iran 4
  Qatar 4
  Australia 2
  China 2
  United Arab Emirates 2
  Uzbekistan 2
  Iraq 1
  Syria 1

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The only woman player to be nominated for the award.
  2. ^ a b Only two players of the shortlist competed for the award under a new rule to omit nominees who didn't attend the ceremony.
  3. ^ a b Points of the AFC were exceptionally released in this year. Nakamura and Adnan were tied for second with 100 points each behind Endō who received 120 points.

References

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  1. ^ Pierrend, José (3 January 2008). "Asian Player of the Year 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. ^ "THE ASIA-OCEANIA SOCCER HANDBOOK". Sportsmemories by Heartbooks. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Pierrend, José; Garin, Erik. "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Asian Player of the Year". Infoplease. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia's Hamad named Asia's top player". The Star Malaysia. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabian is Asia's footballer of the year". Rediff.com. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. ^ Somerford, Ben (20 September 2011). "The Asian Football Confederation Needs To Change The Criteria Behind Its Player Of The Year Award". Goal. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Djeparov wins AFC Player award". Al Jazeera. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Class act Al Montashari". The World Game. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". Fox Sports Asia. 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Asia's Footballer 1991". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Asia's Footballer 1992". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  13. ^ "The Best Man Player in AFC 2020 by IFFHS : Heung Min Son (South Korea/Tottenham Hotspurs)". IFFHS. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  14. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL AWARDS 2021 - AFC". IFFHS. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  15. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL BEST PLAYERS 2022 - AFC". IFFHS. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Al Montashari named Asian Player of the Year". World Soccer. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Qatari teenager Ibrahim named Asian Player of the Year". ChinaDaily.com. Reuters. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  18. ^ "UPDATE 1-Soccer-Yasser Al Qahtani named Asian Player of the Year". Reuters. 28 November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Shamsaei Wins Best Asian Futsal Player Award". FutsalWire.com. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Japan's Yasuhito Endo Named AFC Player Of The Year". Goal. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  21. ^ "AFC Player Of The Year Profiles: Bader Al Mutawa, Farhad Majidi, Farshid Talebi, Sasa Ognenovski, Husain Salman". Goal. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov wins AFC Player of the Year award". Goal. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  23. ^ "AFC Player of the Year: Lee Keun-ho". AFC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Zheng Zhi is first Chinese to win AFC Player of the Year award in decade". South China Morning Post. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  25. ^ "AFC Player of the Year: Nassir Al Shamrani". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  26. ^ "AFC Awards: Ahmed Khalil wins Player of the Year award". Sportstar. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Al Ain's Omar Abdulrahman named AFC Player of the Year". ESPN. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Prolific Syrian Khrbin wins AFC Player of the Year award". NST.com.my. AFP. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Qatar's Abdelkarim Hassan is AFC Player of the Year". Gulf Times. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Player of the Year - Men and Women nominees". AFC. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  31. ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2022: Salem Al Dawsari". AFC. 31 October 2023.
  32. ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2023: Akram Afif". AFC. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa wins inaugural Asian Player of the Year award". The Independent. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  34. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year:Yuto Nagatomo". AFC. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  35. ^ "Gyan and Jedinak land AFC awards". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  36. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2015: Son Heung-min". AFC. 29 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  37. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2016: Shinji Okazaki". AFC. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  38. ^ Kin Fai, Ooi (29 November 2017). "Son Heung-Min wins 2017 AFC Asian International Player of the Year". Goal.
  39. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2018: Makoto Hasebe". AFC. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  40. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2019: Son Heung-min". AFC. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  41. ^ "AFC Annual Awards Hong Kong 2019 nominees revealed". AFC. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  42. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2022: Kim Min-jae". AFC. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  43. ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year (Men) 2023: Son Heung-min". AFC. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  44. ^ "AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 nominees revealed". AFC. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
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