VietNamNet Bridge – Brazilian-born striker Huynh Kesley Alves formerly of V-League club Binh Duong won the nation's Golden Boot award for the highest Vietnamese goal scorer of the year, the prize organising committee told Viet Nam News yesterday, Jan 11.

On target: Huynh Kesley Alves won the Golden Boot award after a successful season during which he scored 23 goals in all tournaments. (Photo: VNS)
Kesley, who now plays for First Division Xuan Thanh-Sai Gon, scored 23 total goals in the national football championship, V-League, the Asian Football Confederation Cup and the National Cup to rank first with 74 points. He won the award with 17 goals in 2009.

This year Kelsey beats off runner-up Nguyen Quang Hai of Khanh Hoa, who scored 14 goals with 41 points, while Binh Duong's Nguyen Anh Duc stands in third place.

"This is the second time we have organised a ceremony to honour the top scorer in the national championship. We will make it an annual event for footballers from now on," said Nguyen Minh Hung, vice chairman of the HCM City Journalists Association's Sport Reporters Club.

In 1997, former striker Le Huynh Duc, who now coaches Da Nang, was presented with a top scorer award, but the event was subsequently suspended for 13 years.

Alves, who was granted Vietnamese citizenship in 2008, scored 14 of Binh Duong's 48 goals in the national V-League premier football championship last season. He also netted the ball seven times in the Asian Football Confederation's Champions League and two more times in the National Cup.

Goals scored in the V-League, National Cup, Super Cup and First-Division are taken into account, as are goals scored at official matches organised by FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the ASEAN Football Federation, as well as during international friendly matches from January to December.

In 2005, the 31-year-old striker won top scorer and best foreign player in the V-League with 21 goals for Binh Duong. In 2009, he was the second Brazilian-born footballer called up by the national team to a training session for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

The organising committee for the Golden Boot award said an award ceremony will be held at HCM City's Palace Hotel. Aside from the trophy, Alves will walk away with a cash-prize of VND20 million (US$1,000).

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News