golden boy Ali Karimi was crowned Asian Player of the Year
here yesterday, becoming the fourth Iranian player to lift the award since 1996.

The Dubai-based striker was handed the award after a string of superb displays in this year’s Asian Cup in China, where he finished joint top-scorer with five goals as Iran reached the semi-finals.

The 26-year-old, who also scored 27 goals in all United Arab Emirates competitions this season for his club Al-Ahli, pipped Japan’s Shunsuke Nakamura and Bahrain’s A’ala Hubail for the award.