Asia Special: Ten Problems With The AFC Player Of The Year Award

Yasuhito Endo has been named as the 2009 AFC Player of the Year but the prize is not as glittering as it could be...

Nov 25, 2009 2:09:52 AM

Since 2005, when Goal.com broke the news that only players able to attend the Asian Football Confederation’s Player of the Year award would be eligible to win, the award and how it is won, has been a source of controversy.

It is all done by points. Players who are named as MVPs in certain games (this year those games are: 2010 World Cup qualifiers, 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, Asian Champions League and AFC Cup) collect points and the ones with the most points at the end of the year wins.

It is quite simple and, in the words of the AFC, scientific and transparent. But there are ten reasons why It doesn’t really work  

1.  Best Player Doesn’t Usually Win

Since 2005, only once, perhaps, has the best player actually won. You could make a strong case for Yasser Al Qahtani in 2007 but that is about it. That includes Yasuhito Endo, a player who should have won last year but not this.


2009 Recipient Yasuhito Endo

2. Ignores Domestic Performances

The fact that domestic league performances play no part is a problem. You occasionally have the situation, and it has happened, where players have made the shortlists after a couple of good AFC Cup or Olympic qualifier performances but rarely play in their domestic league.

3.  Match Selection Unbalanced

Not all players have the same opportunity. Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea finished first, second and third at the 2007 Asian Cup, automatically qualifying for 2011.

That success has placed players from those teams at an immediate disadvantage as they have no 2011 qualifiers and such have fewer games in which to collect points. In 2009, Asian cup qualifiers, along with World Cup qualifiers, are the most lucrative points-wise.

4.  The Points System Is Flawed.

Scoring an unforgettable hat-trick in the Asian Champions League final carries no more weight than being the best of a bad bunch in a goalless dead-rubber group stage match. This is a major weakness as anyone with a football heart will understand.


Glory In Big Games Has Little Weight

5.Timing Could Be Better

Why not hold the ceremony at the end of the year? Goal.com is the biggest and most popular football website in the world but like any international site, different regions have to fight for space. Presenting the prize on a busy UEFA Champions League night and a week before the World cup draw limits exposure.

At the end of December when many European leagues are on a break and there is much less football, and more chance of European-based stars being able to attend, would make more sense. Kuala Lumpur is warm all year round.

6 Doesn’t Honour Asia’s Best

The criteria mean that overseas-based players can still win in theory but in practice it is very difficult. Whether you agree with the system or not, the fact remains that there is no facility to honour players such as Park Ji-sung, Shunsuke Nakamura and Javad Nekounam. These stars have done so much to raise the image of Asian football but under the present system will never be honoured.


  No Asian Prize For European Heroics

7. The Award Is Cursed

Not really much the AFC can do about this but players who win the award usually end up having poor following years.

Not one of the winners since 2005 have enjoyed much success after winning it. Endo should beware!

8.Where’s The Passion?

The whole system, collecting points based on hugely subjective MVP awards from faceless match commissioners, may be transparent but it a soulless way to choose a player of the year.

9.The Attendance Issue.

This is the one that makes most headlines but it is understandable that the AFC doesn’t want players who can’t attend to win the prize. This is the main event and it wouldn’t do to have Ali Karimi accepting a prize on behalf of Javad Nekounam who sends a video speech in from Spain.


Neka Is Appreciated By His La Liga Mates

Still, efforts should be made to ensure that as many players attend as possible. Number six can help in that regard.

10. Cuts Out The Fun

There is no perfect system. Nobody agrees on who the best player is in any federation and it is fine for awards to be controversial.

But elsewhere, people spend hours arguing about the players who should win. In Asia we are left to argue about the system.   

John Duerden

Asia Editor

john.duerden@goal.com
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