Feghouli 2nd best Arab player

Sofiane Feghouli has been Valencia's star performer Algiers – Khaled Alloush Algeria’s Sofiane Feghouli has been named the Arab world’s second best footballer for 2012, in al-Jazeera Sport’s annual online poll. The midfielder won a 36.1 percent share of the 251,670 internet users’ votes while Egyptian side al-Ahly's playmaker Mohammed Aboutrika came first with 46.71 percent. The Moroccan Younès Belhanda, who plays in midfield for French team Montpellier came third with 7.32 percent of the vote. Valencia's Feghouli enjoyed a great year in 2012, performing superbly for the Spanish side in the UEFA Champions League and scoring many crucial goals. He also made his debut for the Algerian national team against Gambia in February, scoring his first international goals in Algeria's 2-1 win. The 23-year old joined Valencia from France’s Grenoble, signing a three-year contract with the Spanish club. Ahly coach Hossam el-Badry was voted best Arab manager of 2012 with 33.3 percent of the vote, followed by Tunisian Espérance’s Nabil Maaloul with 26.5 percent, and the Moroccan national team’s native Rachid Taoussi with 19.15 percent. Barcelona star Lionel Messi retained his position as the world player of the year with 42.35 percent of the vote, narrowly edging past Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, with 42.29 percent. Portuguese manager José Mourinho beat Pep Guardiola to the top of the world managers poll, with the Real Madrid coach receiving 41.86 percent of the vote, and his Barcelona rival receiving 20.85 percent.