Feghouli wins Algerian Ballon d’Or

Feghouli has been at Valencia since May 2010 Algiers – Hocine Bousalah Valencia's attacking midfielder Sofiane Feghouli has been awarded the Algerian Ballon d’Or for being the best Algerian player in 2012. The prize, offered by football newspapers el-Haddaf and Le Buteur, was presented to Feghouli on Monday evening by Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, in a ceremony attended by the leading Algerian and global football figures. In his acceptance speech, Feghouli said he was happy at winning the prestigious award. He graciously thanked the Spanish club, the Algerian national team as well as his family and everyone who helped him perform well. The playmaker lauded el-Haddaf and Le Buteur’s initiative in creating the award and presented his number eight Valencia jersey to his two favourite Algerian football stars, Rabah Madjar and Djamal Belmadi. A montage of the midfielder’s best moments on the field was shown, including testimonials by Barcelona’s Xavi Alonso and Elvis Onyema, as well as manager Vicente del Bosque and former Real Madrid star Emilio Butragueño. Legendary Dutch footballer, manager and three-time winner of the European Ballon d’Or, Johan Cruyff was also honoured at the ceremony along with the National Liberation Front [FLN] football team. FLN players Toufik Mekhloufi and Mohamed Maouche were in attendance. Tunisian league’s Club Africain player Abdelmoumene Djabou won the Best Local Player award. Espérance Sportive's Yousseff Belali received the Best Young Player award, with Raïs M'Bohli named the Best Goalkeeper.