Ghana's Gyan crowned African Footballer of the Year

London, 19 Dec – (ANA) - Ghana and Sunderland star Asamoah Gyan has been crowned BBC African Footballer of the Year for 2010.

The Black Stars striker clinched the title with an overwhelming majority - receiving more than half of the vote.

He finished well ahead of fellow Ghanaian Andre 'Dede' Ayew, Ivorians Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon.

"I'm so happy, I can't believe it," he said. "I'm so thankful to all the fans who voted for me."

He added: "It was really hard to win this award, especially because of all the other players I was up against.

"So I'm so appreciative to all my fans in Africa - especially my family and fans in Ghana."

Gyan had a memorable year internationally, leading Ghana to second place at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, scoring three of the four goals that helped the Black Stars reach their first final in 18 years.

At the World Cup in South Africa, the 24-year-old grabbed the world's attention as another three goals helped them progress from the group and into the quarter-finals.

But he shot to prominence through unfortunate circumstances as his missed penalty against Uruguay with the last kick of the game denied Africa its first semi-final berth.

He then earned widespread praise and went some way to redeeming his error when he recovered his composure to score in the shoot-out following a 1-1 draw. (ANA)

FA/ANA/19 December 2010-----