Zenit's Zhevnov voted No1 in Belarus
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
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Belarus captain and FC Zenit St Petersburg goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov expressed his joy after being voted Belarusian player of the year for 2010. "It's very important and I'm so happy," he said.
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Belarus captain and FC Zenit St Petersburg goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov has been voted Belarusian player of the year.
The 29-year-old made eight appearances for Zenit to help them clinch the Russian Premier League crown in his first season for the club and also captained Belarus in their surprise 1-0 win away to France in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier on 3 September.
Zhevnov finished top of the poll of coaches, club captains and football pundits and journalists conducted by Belarus's leading sports publication Pressbol. From the 351 people who voted, Zhevnov collected 390 points, FC BATE Borisov defender Aleksandr Yurevich was second on 291. and BATE striker Vitali Rodionov third on 270.
"It's very important and I'm so happy," Zhevnov said. "I believe I was named the best thanks largely to my good displays in the Belarus national team, but the whole team played well. It's a pity things haven't been so good for me at Zenit, but I believe that training with the club also helped me when I played for Belarus."
After five seasons at BATE, Zhenov moved to Russia in 2005, making 124 league appearances for FC Moskva before moving to Zenit in February. He has been capped 41 times for Belarus and has been a key player in his side's terrific start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying. Belarus are second in Group D, a point behind France and undefeated after four matches.
