Domínguez on top in Russia

FC Rubin Kazan striker Alejandro Domínguez said it was "a huge honour" to be named Premier-Liga Player of the Year as the Russian champions collected a hat-trick of awards at a season-ending ceremony in Moscow.

Rubin success
The 28-year-old Argentinian scored 16 goals and finished joint-second in the league's scoring chart alongside team-mate Aleksandr Bukharov as Rubin took the title for the second season in succession. "It is a huge honour for me to be recognised at this high level," Domínguez told uefa.com. "This is important for the rest of my career as the Russian league is a top competition. At the same time I think every Rubin player deserves this title."

Other awards
Domínguez and his team-mates had further reason to cheer when they were selected by the Russian Football Union as the team of 2009, while their coach Kurban Berdyev was named best coach. "I've received my award thanks to the team," Berdyev said. "If we weren't united we wouldn't have succeeded. My thanks goes to all the players."

Akinfeev honoured
FC Spartak Moskva striker Welliton finished as the league's highest scorer with 21 goals while PFC CSKA Moskva No1 Igor Akinfeev was named best goalkeeper. "There is always room for improvement," the 23-year-old Russian international said. "Everyone has ups and downs and I'm no exception." Akinfeev's CSKA team-mate, 18-year-old left-back Georgi Schennikov, received the award for best debut season after cementing his place in the side. "It was a good season," he said. "I felt much more confident by the end of the year."