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F. A. - Kuala Lumpur, Iran’s Ali Karimi was named the JCB Player of the Year, beating off Bahrain’s A’ala Hubail and Shunsuke Nakamura, of Japan, to the prestigious title.
The 26-year-old shone at the Asian Cup in China, scoring five goals, including a hat-trikc in the 4-3 win over Korea Republic in the quarter-finals, and winning three man of the match awards in Iran’s run to the semi-finals.
His performances for club side Al Ahli, of the United Arab Emirates, also caught the eye in 2004, his 14 goals making the gifted attacking midfielder the leagues’ top scorer.
“I have worked hard to win this award and I have a lot of people to thank,” Karimi said.
“Now that I have won this award, I will have to work even harder as people will be watching me closely buy I will keep working hard and maybe I will be recognised by one of the bigger clubs in Europe.”
Karimi follows in a long line of Iranians to have won the award, including Ali Daei, Khodad Azizi and, last year, Mehdi Mahdavikia.
“This title is extremely well deserved,” said Abduallah Al Dabal, Chairman of the AFC Media Committte.
“Although Iran did not win the Asian Cup, Karimi’s touches for club and country made him the outstanding candidate for the award.”
Karimi saw off the challenge of Hubail, who also scored five goals at the Asian Cup, and Nakamura, who was the midfield architect of Japan’s Asian Cup triumph.
The awards, in their 10th year, are chosen by members of the AFC’s technical study group, by representatives of the 45 member associations of the AFC, and by the media.
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