Ognenovski wins Asian Player of the Year award

Ognenovski, the 31-year-old captain of South Korea’s Seongnam Ilhwa club, edged out four other finalists from Iran, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Attendance at the Asian Football Confederation’s awards ceremony Wednesday in Malaysia was a prerequisite for the award. Several candidates playing for European clubs were unable to make it.

Ognenovski helped his club win the AFC Champions League in Tokyo last week with a 3-1 victory over Iran’s Zob Ahan.

The four other finalists at the ceremony were two from Iran — Farhad Majidi and Farshid Talebi — as well as Kuwait’s Bader Al Mutawa and Bahrain’s Husain Salman.