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Wed, Aug 30, 2023 10:50 AMPierre-Emerick Aubameyang Wins African Player of the Year Award
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Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been named the African Player of the Year, beating four-time winner Yaya Toure at the ceremony held by the Confederation of African Football. Despite a year without any major trophy success, Aubameyang's outstanding performances for Borussia Dortmund and the Gabon national team earned him the accolade.
Abuja - Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been named the African Player of the Year, beating four-time winner Yaya Toure at the ceremony held by the Confederation of African Football. Despite a year without any major trophy success, Aubameyang's outstanding performances for Borussia Dortmund and the Gabon national team earned him the accolade.
The sharpshooting forward, who received 143 votes to edge out Toure's 136, becomes the first Central African player to win this prestigious award. Aubameyang, captain of the Gabon national team, experienced an early exit in the first round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and his club, Borussia Dortmund, finished seventh in the German league last season.
However, Aubameyang's goal-scoring prowess shone through as he netted 29 goals in the German league in 2015, including 18 goals in the current season, along with seven goals in the Europa League. He becomes the first Bundesliga player to win this award since its inception in 1970.
"I would like to thank the people of Gabon; this award is for them. I want to thank my teammates in the national team and also at Dortmund. Their work has helped me score goal after goal. To the parents of young children in Africa, please give your kids the opportunity to fulfill their dreams," said Aubameyang during his acceptance speech.
The 26-year-old forward is the second player born in Europe to win this award, following in the footsteps of Frederic Kanoute, the Mali international player, who was born in Paris.
Aubameyang's father was the captain of Gabon and played professionally in France, while his mother is Spanish and he was born in France but grew up in Italy.
The African Player of the Year award is determined by votes from coaches or technical directors of all African national teams.
Toure had won the award for four consecutive years from 2011 to 2015 and was the favorite to win it for the fifth time after leading Ivory Coast to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghanaian international player Dede Ayew, who left Olympique Marseille in France to join Swansea City midway through the year, finished third with 112 votes. His father Abedi Pele won this award three times from 1991 to 1993.
Source of content: OOO News 2023-08-30 News
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