AFC Player of the Year 2005: Will it be Shatskikh or Al Montashari?

AFC - The race for AFC Player of the Year 2005 has whittled down to Maksim Shatskikh of Uzbekistan and Saudi Hamad Al Montashari after veteran Saudi striker Sami Al Jaber's last-minute pullout.

The duo will find out who wins the award at the AFC Awards night on Wednesday at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

In a press conference held at the AFC House on the eve of the awards, both candidates said they had equal chances of being crowned as the best player of Asia.

"I am happy to be in the top three and I think all the ten nominated in the initial list had equal chances of winning," said Al Montashari, who plays for AFC Champions League winners Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia.

"The award generally goes to strikers but I am happy that I have been nominated this time round. I would like to win this award and show that the defenders are not neglected," said the 23-year-old defender.

"We both have chances of winning this award and I am happy that I am among the top three," Dynamo Kiev's Shatskikh said.

The AFC's new award - Diamond of Asia - which recognises and rewards the outstanding efforts of an Asian individual for the development and promotion of football will also be presented in the gala. Japan Football Association President Saburo Kawabuchi is the inaugural recipient of the award.

Another new award is the AFC Association of the Year that rewards a Member Association for the development work done both at the grassroots and professional levels. The recipient of this award will be announced on the gala night alongwith the winners of several other categories.