Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Kengo Nakamura and Urawa Reds playmaker Shinji Ono are among 33 candidates for this year's Asian Player of the Year, the Asian Football Confederation said Wednesday. Nakamura and Ono have both played key roles in helping their respective J. League clubs reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League, while FC Tokyo's Sota Hirayama and Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo are the other Japanese players on the list.
