Vietnamese star striker among nominations for best footballer in Asia

Striker Nguyen Tien Linh has been nominated for the Best Footballer in Asia award for the second consecutive year, alongside 24 other players who had great performances last year.

Striker Nguyen Tien Linh has been nominated for the Best Footballer in Asia award for the second consecutive year, alongside 24 other players who had great performances last year.

Linh is one of the three Southeast Asian players on the list, along with Thailand's defender Theerathon Bunmathan (Buriram United) and Singaporean striker Ikhsan Fandi (BG Pathum United).

There are also Asian superstars on the list such as South Korea's Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion), Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto) and Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal).

"Tien Linh was in consistent form and became the top scorer of the 2022 AFF Cup," organizer Titan Sports wrote. "In the historic 3-1 win of Vietnam against China in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Linh played his part well as a striker and scored the second goal."

Linh is also the key player in the SEA Games 31 campaign of Vietnam, helping the team claim the men's football gold medal for the second consecutive time. At the club level, he scored nine goals for Becamex Binh Duong in the 2022 V. League. The 25-year-old has also been nominated for the 2022 Vietnamese Golden Ball.

Best Footballer in Asia is an annual football award presented by Titan Sports, the most circulated sports newspaper in China, to honor the player who had the best performance in Asian football or the Asian player competing outside of Asia in a calendar year. The winner is voted for by sports representatives representing Asian countries. The voting system is similar to that of the reputable Ballon D’or of French magazine France Football.

From a list of 25, the achievements will pick their top five players based on their individual performances and with their team.

Son Heung-min has the most wins with seven times.

The result will be announced in early February.

In the 2021 edition, Linh also made the list, placing 22nd overall. Before Linh, another Vietnamese player, Nguyen Quang Hai, was also nominated in 2019, placing 17th.