BBC: Aboutrika African footballer of the year

Mohamed Aboutrika of Al Ahly and Egypt has been crowned the 2008 BBC African footballer of the year.

Aboutrika, who scored the winning goal for Egypt in the Pharaohs’ triumph at the Nations Cup in Ghana, beat the 2007 winner Emmanuel Adebayor, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Amr Zaki to the title.

“2008 was a tremendous year,” Aboutrika told the BBC’s African sports programme Fast Track. “It was an opportunity for me and my team-mates to be a showcase for Egyptian football, across the world.”