Left in contention are just half a dozen of the best players in Asia.

The six contenders are: Mohamed Noor (Saudi Arabia), Kengo Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo (both Japan), Sayed Mohamed Adnan (Bahrain), Hadi Aghily (Iran), and Firas Al Khatib (Syria).

With several more matches left in the Asian football calendar, surprises are not ruled out as the list is calculated on the number of Most Valuable Player points (see below) accumulated by the players.

The AFC Player of the Year went to Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov last year and previous holders include Ali Daei (Iran), Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan) and Yasser Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia).

This year the awards gala will be held at the Shangri-La Hotel here in the Malaysian capital on November 24.

Nominees for AFC Player of the Year 2009 (in alphabetical order)

Firas Al Khatib (Syria, Al Arabi/Al Qadsiya, KUW)
Hadi Aghily (Iran, Sepahan, IRN)
Kengo Nakamura (Japan, Kawasaki Frontale, JPN)
Mohammed Noor (Saudi Arabia, Al Ittihad, KSA)
Sayed Mohamed Adnan (Bahrain, Al Khor, QAT)
Yasuhito Endo (Japan , Gamba Osaka, JPN)