Aliyev takes Azerbaijani honour

FC Volyn Lutsk midfield player Samir Aliyev has been named as player of the year in Azerbaijan.

Commanding lead
The 23-year-old won the top award with 89 points, beating runners up Kyamal Guliyev and Tarlan Akhmedov, who finished with 30 and 29 points respectively.

Young talent
Aliyev made his debut for the Azeri national team when he was just 18, against Latvia in Riga on August 1997. Since then, he has become one of the brightest young talents in Azerbaijan and one of the few Azeri players to ply their trade outside of their country.

Ukrainian impact
When the Azeri championship came to a halt amid controversy this spring and never restarted, Aliyev left his club FC Neftchi to join newly-promoted Ukrainian side FC Volyn Lutsk. There, he made an enourmous impact right from the first day – the midfield player scored on his debut with the first-ever in top flight for his new club.

'Incredibly talented'
Aliyev's teammate at Volyn, Guliyev, who finished second in the poll, said he had no doubts about the player of the year in Azerbaijan. “I had not a shadow of a doubt that my partner and my close friend deserved this award," said Guliyev. "He is the main hope of our club and is incredibly talented."

Azeri hope
Aliyev himself said: “I would like to thank everybody who was helped me along the way. My biggest wish at the moment is to see the restoration of the national championship in Azerbaijan. When I come home to Baku, I am terrified at the fact that my friends cannot play football."