Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: FC Seoul captain and Asian Player of the Year 2013 nominee Ha Dae-sung has hailed the qualities of his fellow nominees as he is taking inspiration of the 2012 Asian Player of the Year and his close friend Lee Keun-ho.
The FC Seoul midfielder is fighting it out with Iran and Esteghlal captain Javad Nekonam and AFC Champions League 2013 winner Zheng Zhi.
Speaking in a press conference on the eve of the Awards, the 28-year old revealed on how he shared the experiences of winning the coveted award with his long-time friend and the winner of AFC Asian Player of the Year 2012 Lee.
“We played football together from when I was 11-year old.
“We talked a lot about this award when Lee won it last year and when I was nominated for this year he advised me to enjoy my time during the award, regardless of what the result is.
“He talked about the stiff competition I am facing and even told me that it would be very difficult for me to win this award given the qualities and contribution of the other two contestants.
“Recently we faced each other on many occasions in the ACL and in the World Cup qualifiers and I can tell you that how good is Javad (Nekonam).
“We were very lucky not to have him around in the second leg otherwise I know he has the ability to win a match in his own,” Ha said referring Nekonam’s suspension in the second leg of the ACL semi-final between FC Seoul and Esteghlal which ended 2-2 with the Korean outfit winning 4-2 on aggregate.
“Likewise, Zheng (Zhi) is also a top player playing for a top club who defeated us in the ACL final so he also deserves to win.
“It would have been great to win the final but given the qualities of Guangzhou (Evergrande), we just fell short.
“We had a great journey this year, being a captain I feel the communication amongst the teammates inside and outside the field was crucial. We had great coordination since the lads did not move after winning the domestic league which was one of the keys of team success,” he said.