Kuala Lumpur: Persepolis FC goalkeeper Hamed Lak is Asia’s pick for the best player in the AFC League in 2020.
The 30-year standstill won an award, recognizing the best player in the AFC 2020 Champions League season, based on votes from a mix of fans and independent experts.
Lak was ahead of midfielder Ulsan Hyundai FC Yoon Bit-garam, who finished in second place after receiving the official award for most valuable player in the tournament after the final in Doha on 19 December.
Despite losing to Persepolis in the decision, Lak was heavily involved throughout the tournament, with Ioran’s side stringing up seven games in a row without conceding from open play.
In the eight games during the tournament in which Lak played, Persepolis conceded a total of four goals – three of which were scored directly from penalty kicks. The other was accepted after Lak saved a Júnior Negrão scoring goal in the final, with the Brazilian striker turning from the next round.
Making his performance even more impressive, Lak did not enter Persepolis in September before holding five clean sheets in eight appearances.
How they ended up: Asia Choice – AFC League Best 2020
Top 10 best points
- Hamed Lak – Persepolis FC 47.14
- Bit-garam Yoon – Ulsan Hyundai 19.62
- Bashar Resan – Persepolis FC 11.36
- Abderrazak Hamdallah – Al Nassr 7.53
- Júnior Negrão – Ulsan Hyundai 6.54
- Renato Augusto – Beijing FC 3.06
- Shoja Khalilzadeh – Persepolis FC 1.67
- Sultan Al Ghannam – Al Nassr 1.19
- Jaloliddin Masharipov – Pakhtakor 0.66
- Kyogo Furuhashi – Vissel Kobe 0.54
While Yoon Doha averaged the AFC Champions League double title and MVP tournament honors, the Asian Choice format gave Lak a big impact with 47.14 points.
Persepolis ’Bashar Reshan finished in third place, while Abderrazak Hamdallah and Júnior Negrão – the two main goalscorers of the tournament with seven – finished fourth and fifth respectively.
The success of Ulsan Hyundai and Persepolis ’team was evident in the polls, with five of the top seven players handed over by the two finalists.
About Asia – Fan Awards 2020
The winners of each Asia’s Choice – 2020 Fan Awards were presented with hundreds of thousands of fan votes, as well as votes from an independent panel of experts that included former journalists Michael Church and Wael Jabir and Matchday Asia pundit Rhysh Roshan Rai.
Fan votes were given 60 percent weights, with the remaining 40 percent added to the expert panel, culminating in a points-based completeness for each shortlisted player.
Fan Asia Awards – 2020 Fan is not intended to be a venue for the official AFC Annual Awards, but to be an opportunity for loyal Asian football fans to have their say in ensuring the best of the world. continent.
Photos: AFP, AFC