AFC awardees felicitated amid fanfare in Hong Kong

Akram Afif’s sterling year was made even more exceptional when the Qatar international was named the AFC Player of the Year 2019 at the AFC Annual Awards on Monday.

Afif was tipped as a future star since his early years that saw him play for Spanish youth teams Sevilla and Villarreal, before being called up for Qatar’s team for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers and the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship.

Not yet 20, Afif was part of Qatar’s 2016 AFC U-23 Championship campaign that was led by head coach Felix Sanchez and the forward was again part of the squad in the following edition, where Qatar finished third.

A permanent member of the senior national team since 2015, Afif was instrumental in Qatar’s AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 triumph, with one goal and 10 assists.

At club level, Afif played an intergral part as Al Sadd SC won the 2018-19 Qatar Stars League, earning himself the Best Player Award with 26 goals and 15 assists

The 23-year-old played a key role in Al Sadd making the 2019 AFC Champions League semi-finals, scoring five goals before the Doha-based club’s run was ended by eventual winners Al Hilal SFC of Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Korea Republic captain and Tottenham Hotspur star, Son Heung-min, was named the AFC Asian International Player of the Year for a record third time at the 2019 Annual Awards on Monday.

Son, who was also awarded the accolade in 2015 and 2017, has once again enjoyed an impressive season for club and country.

Twelve goals and six assists in 31 appearances in the Premier League saw him help Tottenham to a fourth-place finish in the 2018/19 standings, and Son was equally monumental in their UEFA Champions League campaign, where Spurs made their first-ever appearance in the final but fell 2-0 to Liverpool.

Little has changed for the 27-year-old this season as the striker continues his goalscoring exploits for Tottenham in both tournaments.

Son’s commitment to Korea Republic is equally high.

Son skippered the Taeguk Warriors to a quarter-final finish in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 last January, where they lost 1-0 to eventual champions Qatar, and is leading Korea Republic’s charge in the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Korea Republic’s Chung Jung-yong was named the AFC Men’s Coach of the Year at the 2019 AFC Annual Awards on Monday.

“I’m very pleased and honoured to get such a big award,” said Chung. “I would like to thank the Korea Football Association for supporting my work.

“We have seen in the AFC club competitions that Asian teams are very capable of performing. I’m very happy that my team has also shown that on the world stage.”

Chung, a former professional player, first got involved with Korea Republic’s age-group national teams in 2009, where he was the assistant coach to Kim Eun-chul for the AFC U-16 Championship 2010 Qualifiers.

Although the young Taeguk Warriors failed to qualify for the Finals in that edition, Chung was promoted to head coach four years later and was successful in leading the team to the Finals.

Barcelona legend and Al Sadd coach Xavi backed hosts Qatar to make an impression at the next World Cup after Afif was named Asian player of the year on Monday.

Doha-based Xavi, who collected the award on Afif’s behalf at the Asian Football Confederation awards in Hong Kong, said the Qataris would be competitive in 2022 “for sure”.

Japan’s Saki Kumagai was rewarded for a glittering career for club and country as she was named women’s player of the year at the ceremony in protest-hit Hong Kong.

Afif, 23, made a record 10 assists as Qatar stormed to their first Asian Cup title in February, reaping the rewards of heavy investment in their national set-up as the World Cup looms.

Afif also helped Xavi’s Al Sadd reach the AFC Champions League semi-finals, where they lost to Saudi eventual winners Al Hilal 6-5 on aggregate.

“I think they are working very well, they are competing against very big countries,” Xavi, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, said of Qatar.

“I think they have a very good team and also a very good coach. They are well organised on the pitch and they have a very good generation of players... Many players that can make the difference on the pitch.

“They are working really well and they can compete in 2022 for sure.”