After 6 continuous official matches victory in 2013 including FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 qualifying matches, Team Melli is nominated as the AFC Team of the Year 2013 in the AFC annual Award nominations. Competing with Team Melli is Japan National team and Iraq Youth team (U-29). Iran has several nominees in this year’s list including Team Melli Captain Javad Nekounam who is nominated as AFC Player of the Years.
Team Melli played 8 official matches in 2013 winning 7 and drawing one. In the same period Team Melli played one friendly match only and that ended in a 3-1 loss to Oman. In the process , Team Melli qualified for the finals of the two most prestigious competitions, the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and the AFC Asian Cup in Australia i2015.
Annual Awards 2013 Nominees
AFC ANNUAL AWARDS 2013 NOMINEES
(in alphabetical order; list as of today)
AFC DIAMOND OF ASIA
Dr. Chung Mong-Joon
AFC DREAM ASIA AWARD
AFC FAIR PLAY ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
China Football Association
Japan Football Association
Korea Football Association
AFC FUTSAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Chonburi Bluewave (Thailand)
Sanaye Giti Pasand (Iran)
Nagoya Oceans (Japan)
AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Hossein Tayebibidgoli (Sanaye Giti Pasand: Iran)
Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans: Japan)
Suphawut Thueanklang (Chonburi Bluewave: Thailand)
AFC FOREIGN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dario Leonardo Conca (Guangzhou Evergrande; Argentina)
Dejan Damjanovic (FC Seoul; Montenegro)
Luiz Guilherme Da Conceicao Silva (Guangzhou Evergrande; Brazil)
AFC ASIAN INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Keisuke Honda (Japan; CSKA Moscow)
Son Heung-Min (Korea Republic; Bayer Leverkusen)
Yuto Nagatomo (Japan; Inter Milan)
AFC ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Flynn Allyson Clare (Australia)
Sarah Ho (Australia)
Teshirogi Naomi (Japan)
MEN
Kamranifar Hassan (Iran)
Nagi Toshiyuki (Japan)
Sagara Toru (Japan)
AFC REFEREE OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Kamnueng Pannipar (Thailand)
Rita binti Ghani (Malaysia)
Yamagishi Sachiko (Japan)
MEN
Benjamin Williams (Australia)
Nawaf Abdulla (Bahrain)
Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)
AFC CLUB OF THE YEAR
FC Seoul (Korea Republic)
Guangzhou Evergrande (China)
Kuwait SC (Kuwait)
AFC MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
AFC MA OF THE YEAR FOR GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL
All India Football Federation
Japan Football Association
Vietnam Football Federation
AFC NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
DPR Korea U-19 National Team
Japan U-16 National Team
Korea Republic U-19 National Team
MEN
Iraq U-20 National Team
IR Iran National Team
Japan National Team
AFC COACH OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Asako Takemoto (Japan)
Nuengrutai Srathongvian (Thailand)
Hwang In-Sun (Korea Republic)
MEN
Choi Yong-Soo (Korea Republic)
Hakeem Shakir (Iraq)
Jong Song-Chon (Korea Republic)
AFC YOUTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Jang Sel-Gi (Korea Republic)
Wang Shuang (China)
Hina Sugita (Japan)
MEN
Abbosbek Makhstaliev (Uzbekistan)
Ali Adnan Kadhim (Iraq)
Kwon Chang-Hoon (Korea Republic)
AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ha Dae-Sung (FC Seoul: Korea Republic)
Javad Nekonam (Esteghlal: Iran)
Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande: China)