Ferreira: Akram Afif deserves the Asian Player of the Year award

Former Al-Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira has expressed his delight after Akram Afif was named as the 2019 Asian Player of the Year at the annual AFC Awards ceremony in Hong Kong.

“I’m very happy to see Akram Afif win the Asian Player of the Year award,” said Ferreira. “My delight is multiplied because I was his coach for almost two years and I watched his progress during this period.

The Portuguese coach added: “Akram deserves this award; Al-Sadd and Qatar deserve it as well.”

“Abdelkarim Hassan won it in 2018 and then Akram Afif this year, which is the biggest proof that there’s great work being done in Qatar and at Al-Sadd in the field of football.”

He concluded by saying: “I was honoured to work with both of these players, especially Akram Afif the current winner, and all the other players at Al-Sadd because you cannot work and win alone. This is a win for the players, staff and the country as a whole.”