CAIRO - Egypt and Ahly star Ahmed Hassan has been named CAF's African-based Player of the Year, while Pharaohs coach Hassan Shehata has missed out on the Coach of the Year award. Thirty-four-year-old Hassan beat off competition from his compatriot Mohamed Nagui ‘Gedo' and TP Mazembe ace Alain Dioko. The decorated midfielder, who's nursing a long-lasting knee injury, was instrumental in helping Egypt win the 2010 African Cup of Nations (ACN) title. He was also influential at club level, having played a major role in Ahly's triumphant league campaign in the 2009-2010 season. His Egyptian countryman Gedo, top scorer in this year's ACN with fives goals, was also nominated for the award. Mazembe's Mputu Mabi won the African-based Player of the Year award in 2009. Shehata missed out on the Coach of the Year award as former Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac scooped it. Rajevac led the Black Stars to the Nations Cup final, losing 1-0 to Egypt. The Serbian coach, who's now in charge of Ahly Jeddah, also beat off competition from Mazembe boss Lamine N'Diaye. Ghana also snatched the National Team of the Year award. They reached the World Cup quarterfinals after performing impressively in the gigantic competition. African champions and Club World Cup finalists Mazembe were, as expected, named the African Club of the Year. Morocco's FUS Rabat and Tunisian side CS Sfaxien were also nominated for the accolade. Udinese's Ghanaian ace Kwadwo Asamoah was voted the Most Promising Talent of the Year. Sochaux's Algerian Ryad Boudebouz and Moussa Maazou of Niger were on the same shortlist. Nigeria's Stella Mbachu was named Women's Footballer of the Year while her team claimed the National Team of the Year award. All the winners were announced at a ceremony held in Cairo. Meanwhile, Cameroon and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o set a new landmark for individual success in African football on Monday, after being named the continent's Footballer of the Year for a record fourth time, according to Reuters Monday. The 2010 award came five years after his last triumph and capped a year of unprecedented club success in which he also extended his scoring record in the ACN finals. The Cameroon captain finished ahead of Ivorian Didier Drogba and Asamoah Gyan of Ghana in the polling for Africa's top individual prize, awarded at the Confederation of African Football's awards gala in Cairo. "It is a pleasure to be a winner again, to take it for the fourth time against such fantastic opposition," Eto'o told a news conference after the ceremony. Additional reporting from Cafonline.com and local newspapers
