Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday, narrowly edging out Yaya Toure at the Confederation of African Football award ceremony.
The prolific Borussia Dortmund forward, who received 143 votes to four-time winner Toure’s 136, is the first player from the central African country to win the award.
His accolade comes despite a year without trophy success. He was captain of the Gabon team eliminated in the first round of the African Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea at the start of last year and his club finished seventh in the Bundesliga last season.
Photo: AFP
However, he did score 29 Bundesliga goals last year, including 18 this season, plus a further seven in the Europa League. He is the first Bundesliga-based player to win the annual award, first introduced in 1970.
“His potency in front of goal has seen him become one of the most recognizable strikers in Europe this season,” his citation said.
“I thank the people of Gabon, this award is for them. I want to thank my teammates in the national team and also at Dortmund. It is their work that helps me to score goals. For the parents of the youth of Africa, please give your kids a chance to realize their dreams,” Aubameyang said in his acceptance speech.
The 26-year-old is the second player born in Europe to win the award after Frederic Kanoute, the Parisian-born Mali international.
Aubameyang’s father was captain of Gabon and played professionally in France.
His mother is Spanish. He was born in France, but raised in Italy.
The African Footballer of the Year is decided by a vote of coaches or technical directors of all Africa’s national teams.
Toure had won the award for an unprecedented four years in succession from 2011 to last year and was the favorite for a fifth after captaining Ivory Coast to the African Nations Cup title.
Ghana international Dede Ayew, who left Olympique de Marseille in France for Swansea City in mid-year, was third with 112 votes.
His father Abedi Pele won the award three times from 1991 to 1993.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set