Javad Nekounam leads the list of the candidate for 2013 AFC Player of the Year.

 

On Tuesday, the attention of the Asian Football community will be focused on the annual ceremony by the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.

The best of Asian players, teams and personalities will be announced with Iran having its fair share of candidates on the nominees list. Amongst the most coveted of prizes is the Asian Player of the Year, a title that no Iranian player has won since Ali Karimi deservedly won this title in 2004 after his splendid display in the Asian Cup 2004.

Not that Iranian players have been absent from the list , since Farhad Majidi,  Hadi Aghili and Ali Karimi all made the final list from 2010 to 2012 respectively. All were selected as runner ups against their rivals and missing the title.

This year, Javad Nekounam has made the list along with China’s Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande) and South Korea’s Ha Dae-Sung (FC Seoul).

Considering the appraisal system of AFC, Javad Nekonam , the Esteghlal and Team Melli Captain, is looking top favorite for the title with his appearances in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers , AFC Asian Cup qualifiers , and the AFC Champions league matches with added bonus of scoring in these matches.

Nekounam opponents might have one advantage as both of them played in the final of the AFC Asian Champions League with  Zheng Zhi winning the title. Nekounam and Esteghlal failed to make the final losing to the Korean side in the two legged semi-final.

Nekounam has left Tehran for the Malaysian capital right after their re-schedule match against Malavan , full of hope of achieving this coveted prize. The Team Melli Captain was pivotal in Iran’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup. Being crowned as the Player of the Year will be the icing on the cake for Nekounam’s illustrious career which took him to UAE and then 5 successful year with Osasuna in the Spanish La Liga before returning home to win the championship for his club Esteghlal.

[box title=”PROFILE” style=”bubbles” title_color=”#c7cbe4″ radius=”4″]Javad Nekounam[/box]

Club:  Esteghlal Tehran

D.O.B: 06-Sep-80

Born: Shahr Rey, Iran

Height: 186 cm

Weight: 78 Kg

International Debut: Syria 28.May.00

Position: Midfield

Caps: 138

Goals : 37