China's Zheng Zhi beat Iranian star Javad Nekounam to the Asian player of the year award Tuesday after leading Guangzhou Evergrande to a breakthrough regional title.

The 33-year-old, captain for his club and country, said it was a "special feeling" to win the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) prize after a distinguished career at home and in Europe.

Earlier this month the ex-Charlton Athletic and Celtic midfielder skippered Marcello Lippi-coached Guangzhou to the AFC Champions League title, China's first Asian trophy in 23 years.

"There is a special feeling of winning this award at the age of 33. It's a big occasion for me to win this award," he said, after being showered with tickertape at a gala awards show.

"This season has been fantastic not only for me but the whole team... we are looking for the unique treble after winning the ACL (Champions League) and the (domestic) league, so it's been a memorable one."

Zheng has been a driving force behind Guangzhou's transformation into the team dubbed the "Manchester United of Asia" after winning three straight Chinese Super League titles.

This week, they will play the second leg of their Chinese FA Cup semi-final with Beijing Guoan as they bid for an unprecedented domestic and Asian trophy treble.

Zheng's shortlist rivals were FC Seoul's Ha Dae-Sung and Nekounam, the ex-Osasuna midfielder now with Esteghlal who captained Iran to a place in next year's World Cup in Brazil.

Zheng played in China's last successful major international tournament, the 2004 Asian Cup, where a controversial 3-1 loss to Japan in the Beijing final prompted angry protests by fans.

And he has been key to the country's revival on the regional stage courtesy of Guangzhou's AFC Champions League win, the first Asian title for a Chinese team since Liaoning in 1990.

The dynamic midfielder picked up domestic titles early in his career with Shenzhen Jianlibao and Shandong Luneng before succesfully making the difficult switch to Europe.

Zheng was a hit with fans during nearly three seasons at Charlton Athletic and he spent a year with Scottish giants Celtic before returning to China to join Guangzhou Evergrande in 2010.

It proved to be a wise choice as Zheng helped steer Guangzhou, relegated over a match-fixing scandal, back to China's top tier and then to three national titles in a row.

But the breakthrough came when, under World Cup-winning coach Lippi, Guangzhou beat FC Seoul to win the Champions League and announce China's re-emergence on the international stage.

According to AFC rules, only contenders who attended the awards ceremony in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur could be considered for the player of the year award.

Inter Milan's Japanese defender Yuto Nagatomo was named international player of the year, the category for Asians based outside the region.

Zheng's Brazilian team-mate Muriqui, top-scorer in the Champions League with 13 goals, scooped foreign player of the year and Guangzhou were named best club.