The Asian Footballer of the Year award is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year.
History
editA 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
editIFFHS award
editThe 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
editThe 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.
AFC award (international)
editThe 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.
Statistics
editWins by player
editPlayer | 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
editCountry | 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
editNotes
edit- ^ The only woman player to be nominated for the award.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
edit- ^ Pierrend, José (3 January 2008). "Asian Player of the Year 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "THE ASIA-OCEANIA SOCCER HANDBOOK". Sportsmemories by Heartbooks. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Asian Player of the Year". Infoplease. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia's Hamad named Asia's top player". The Star Malaysia. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ "Saudi Arabian is Asia's footballer of the year". Rediff.com. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Djeparov wins AFC Player award". Al Jazeera. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ "Class act Al Montashari". The World Game. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Asia's Footballer 1991". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Asia's Footballer 1992". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "The Best Man Player in AFC 2020 by IFFHS : Heung Min Son (South Korea/Tottenham Hotspurs)". IFFHS. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL AWARDS 2021 - AFC". IFFHS. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL BEST PLAYERS 2022 - AFC". IFFHS. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Al Montashari named Asian Player of the Year". World Soccer. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Qatari teenager Ibrahim named Asian Player of the Year". ChinaDaily.com. Reuters. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Shamsaei Wins Best Asian Futsal Player Award". FutsalWire.com. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Japan's Yasuhito Endo Named AFC Player Of The Year". Goal. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov wins AFC Player of the Year award". Goal. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "AFC Player of the Year: Lee Keun-ho". AFC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "AFC Player of the Year: Nassir Al Shamrani". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "AFC Awards: Ahmed Khalil wins Player of the Year award". Sportstar. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Al Ain's Omar Abdulrahman named AFC Player of the Year". ESPN. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Prolific Syrian Khrbin wins AFC Player of the Year award". NST.com.my. AFP. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Qatar's Abdelkarim Hassan is AFC Player of the Year". Gulf Times. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Player of the Year - Men and Women nominees". AFC. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2022: Salem Al Dawsari". AFC. 31 October 2023.
- ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2023: Akram Afif". AFC. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa wins inaugural Asian Player of the Year award". The Independent. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year:Yuto Nagatomo". AFC. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Gyan and Jedinak land AFC awards". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2016: Shinji Okazaki". AFC. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ Kin Fai, Ooi (29 November 2017). "Son Heung-Min wins 2017 AFC Asian International Player of the Year". Goal.
- ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2018: Makoto Hasebe". AFC. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2019: Son Heung-min". AFC. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "AFC Annual Awards Hong Kong 2019 nominees revealed". AFC. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2022: Kim Min-jae". AFC. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "AFC Asian International Player of the Year (Men) 2023: Son Heung-min". AFC. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 nominees revealed". AFC. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.