Juan Veron wins South American footballer of the year award

Argentinian footballer Juan Sebastian Veron has been elected South American footballer of the year for the first time in his career, following his performance at Estudiantes La Plata in 2008.

The 33-year-old joined Estudiantes from Internazionale in 2006 and his experience soon allowed him to take a leading role at the club.

Estudiantes finished third in the Clausura earlier this year, and came in seventh in the Aperture which finished this month. More importantly, the side reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana but eventually lost to Brazilian outfit Internacional Porto Alegre.

Veron becomes the eighth Argentinian to win the award. His predecessors were Mario Kempes, Diego Armando Maradona (2), Oscar Ruggeri, Martin Palermo, Javier Saviola, Juan Roman Riquelme and Carlos Tevez (3).

The midfielder succeeds Paraguayan Salvador Cabañas, whose performance America de Mexico earned him the prestigious award in 2007.