Kagawa wins international player award

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Shinji Kagawa has had injury problems at United

Shinji Kagawa has won the Asian Football Confederation's first International Player of the Year award at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.


Kagawa, 23, beat his Japan international team-mate Yuto Nagatomo, of Inter Milan, and Fulham's Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to lift the AFC trophy.

The Manchester United midfielder was a key figure as his former club Borussia Dortmund won last season's Bundesliga, but his start to life at Old Trafford has been interrupted by injury.

South Korean winger Lee Keun-ho took the AFC Player of the Year award thanks to his fine performances for Ulsan Hyundai.

Al Jazira's Rogerio De Assis Silva was named Foreign Player of the Year for his consistently fine performances for the United Arab Emirates club.