Asian Player of Year nominations
The Asian Football Association have revealed the main contenders for the AFC Player of the Year.
This year's award will be contested between European-based players Maksim Shatskikh and Mehdi Mahdavikia, along with home-based talent Thersak Chaiman.
Uzbekistan striker Maksi Shatskikh, 25, has enjoyed the most prolific season of his career this year and, with 22 goals, was top of Dynamo Kiev's scoring charts.
The 2002/03 season also included three UEFA Champions League strikes, although Kiev failed to progress beyond the group stages.
Shatskikh, a clever forward and consistent goalscorer has proved a shrewd buy since signing for Kiev in 1999. A product of the Tashkent football academy, he spent the first four years of his career with five different league clubs before settling at Kiev, as Andrei Shevchenko's long-term replacement.
His first season at Kiev proved an unqualified success with Shatskikh registering 20 goals in 25 games, securing him the Ukraine Premiership top scorer award.
Mahdavikia is another Asian player to have enjoyed success on European soil this season. The talented Iranian midfielder played an integral role in securing fourth place in the Bundesliga for Hamburg and German League Cup glory.
Mahdavikia began his career at Pirouzi in 1997 before his break came with a transfer to German Bundesliga side Hamburg in 2000. This year has seen excellent form for both the national side and his club, culminating in Mahdavikia topping the Hamburg assist chart.
Prolific Thailand goalscorer Therdsak Chaiman is no stranger to individual plaudits having won the most valuable player at the 2002 Tiger Cup. Thailand lifted the trophy in 2002 with Chaiman a scorer in the final.
Chaiman was this year appointed captain of his national side and the popular goalscorer has been in excellent form for his club side. The striker has enjoyed success abroad in his career with a loan spell at Singapore Armed Forces yielding 27 goals and a league Player of the Year award.
The 2003 awards take place on December 10 at the Sheraton Imperial, Kula Lumpar, Malaysia. For the first time in AFC history the awards are being held within a calendar year, ensuring a closer focus on the 2003 performances.
