Shinji Ono is AFC player of 2002

Japan's Shinji Ono has been named Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year for 2002.

The Feyenoord midfielder saw off compatriot Junichi Inamoto, Korea Republic's Ahn Jung-hwan and China's Li Tie.

The trophy presentation will be held on June 4, when Feyenoord face Urawa Reds, Ono's former club, in a friendly in Saitama, Japan.

Ono becomes the third Japanese player after Masami Ihara (1995) and Hidetoshi Nakata (1997 and 1998) to scoop the most prestigious award in Asian football since the awards were inaugurated in 1994. He also becomes the first player to win both the AFC Player of the Year and AFC Young Player of the Year titles, having won the latter in 1998.

The 23-year-old helped Feyenoord win the UEFA Cup in 2002, which made him only the second Asian to win a major European title after Korean Cha Bum-kun, who won the same trophy with German clubs Eintracht Frankfurt (1979/80) and Bayer Leverkusen (1987/88).

Ono's other achievements during a sterling year included helping Japan to the second round of the World Cup, and leading his club to third place in the 2001/02 Dutch Eredivisie and the First Group Stage of the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League.

Meanwhile, Guus Hiddink was named AFC Coach of the Year for his historic role in leading Korea Republic to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.

Hiddink, who has since led PSV Eindhoven to the 2002/03 Eredivisie title, will forever be hailed by Koreans and Asians alike for his success in elevating Asian football to a higher level. The Dutchman made Korea arguably the fittest team in the World Cup and ensured they peaked at the right moment to beat European giants Spain, Italy, Portugal and Poland on their way to the last four.

Lee Chun-soo, an important member of Hiddink's World Cup squad, pocketed another title for Korea Republic when he bagged the AFC Young Player of the Year title, following in the footsteps of past winners such as Ono and Iran's Mehdi Mahdavikia, now with German club Hamburg.

As well as starring in the World Cup, Lee helped Korea win bronze at the Asian Games and the attacking midfielder was named K-League Rookie of the Year after helping Ulsan Hyundai finish runners-up in his first year as a professional.

Korea Republic was named AFC National Team of the Year for becoming the first Asian country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Korea also clinched the AFC Fair Play Award by virtue of their clean play and gentlemanly behaviour in the AFC U-20 and U-17 Championships, where their teams won both titles.

Pakhtakor was the AFC Club Team of the Year after winning the league and Cup double in Uzbekistan, and battling through six qualifying matches in the 2002 preliminary round of the inaugural AFC Champions League (and eventually reaching the semi-finals).

I.R. Iran was the runaway winner in the AFC Futsal Team of the Year category, having won their fourth consecutive AFC Futsal Championship since the event began in 1999.

In the AFC Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year category, Japan's Toru Kamikawa and Ali Al Traifi of Saudi Arabia emerged winners in their respective categories. Both officiated in last year's World Cup.