Syrian striker Omar Khribin has won the the Asian Football Confederation’s 2017 Player of the Year award.
The 23-year-old was selected ahead of last year’s winner Omar Abdulrahman from UAE and the Chinese international winger Wu Lei.
Khribin became the first Syrian in history to win the prestigious individual trophy after starring both for his club and for his war-torn country, who were only two steps away from reaching the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
In addition to his success in international level, the Damascus-born also enjoyed an impressive campaign with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal that made it all the way to the AFC Champions League final this year before losing to Urawa Reds.
He finished the competition as top scorer with 10 goals.
Urawa Reds coach Takafumi Hori was named as Asian coach of the year, while Australia forward Sam Kerr won the women’s player of the year award.