The Chinese national team captain, who had spells at Charlton Athletic and Celtic from 2006 until 2010, becomes the first Chinese player to win the award since Fan Zhiyi in 2001.

Also captain of Guangzhou Evergrande, Zheng led the club to its third consecutive Super League title this season as well as victory in the AFC Champions League - becoming the first Chinese club to win the continental title in its new format.

After being nominated for the award last year, the 33-year-old expressed his delight at finally getting his hands on Asian football's highest individual accolade.

"I am very excited [...] after coming last year without award its very special this time, there is a special feeling of winning this award at the age of 33," Zheng said after winning the coveted trophy.

"It's a big occasion for me to win this award.

"This season has been fantastic season not only for me but the whole teammates.

"We are looking for the unique treble after winning the ACL and the league so it's been a memorable one.

"Honestly, I thought that I would not win award again after I was confined of being only nominee last year but it' s down to my teammates without whom it would have been impossible to win this again."

China's national team captain Zheng Zhi was named AFC Player of the Year ©Getty Images



The award ceremony, held at Kuala Lumpur's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, proved a triumphant one for Chinese football as Zheng's club, Guangzhou Evergrande, was awarded Club of the Year while fellow teammate Luiz Guilherme da Conceição Silva, more commonly known as Muriqui, was named Asian Foreign Player of the Year.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) was also awarded the inaugural Inspiring Member Association of the Year award despite a string of disappointing performances by the national team which saw them eliminated from the 2014 World Cup Asian qualifiers in round three.

It also picked up the Fair Play award, amassing 609 fair play points over the year through positive play, conduct on and off the field and the behaviour of supporters at the stadium.

The Diamond of Asia award, thought of as the most prestigious accolade at the ceremony, was handed to FIFA vice-president Dr Chung Mong-joon by AFC President Shaikh Salman.

Salman presented the award alongside FIFA President, and former recipient, Sepp Blatter who said that the achievements of the past year showcased at the 2013 AFC Annual Awards Ceremony is clear evidence that Asian football is continuing to progress in the right direction.

"It is a great honour and a wonderful opportunity to meet the AFC during this big fiesta for the presentation of awards of the year," Blatter said.

"I'm honoured and pleased to be back in Asia and to meet with AFC President Shaikh Salman.

"This gala is an opportunity to show what Asia has achieved and I'd like to wish the AFC and Shaikh Salman well because we have seen so far the achievements of the AFC and I'm sure that Asia is in good hands."

Japan and Inter Milan star Yuto Nagatomo claimed the International Player of the Year award ©Getty Images



Inter Milan's Yuto Nagatomo became the second Japanese recipient of the International Player of the Year award following Manchester United star, Shinji Kagawa's, success from last year.

The men's and women's Youth Player of the Year awards went to Iraq's Ali Adnan Kadhim and South Korea's Jang Sel-gi respectively.

Kadhim played a key role in Iraq's 2013 under-20 World Cup campaign, helping the side reach the semi-finals before they were agonisingly beaten on penalties by Uruguay.

Jang led South Korea to victory at the 2013 AFC under-19 Women's Championship in Nanjing, picking up the Most Value Player (MVP) and Top Scorer prizes along the way.

It was these Iraq under 20 and South Korea under 19 teams that were named the AFC National Teams of the Year.

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