OTTAWA - Julian de Guzman has been named the winner of the 2008 Adidas Canadian male soccer player of the year.
The Toronto native was chosen in a vote weighted evenly between Canadian media and coaches who have taken the Canadian Soccer Association's national course at the B and A levels.
This is the first year the male player of the year award -- first handed out in 2005 -- has gone to a player other than Dwayne De Rosario.
Christine Sinclair was named the 2008 female player of the year on Thursday for the fourth consecutive year.
De Guzman scored two goals in seven games for Canada this past year, including one in a World Cup qualifier. His only two previous international goals came against Costa Rica in 2007.
The midfielder has played 35 games for Canada at the senior level.
The 27-year-old also starred for his Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna, helping the club to a spot in the UEFA Cup.
De Guzman came second in 2008 fan voting conducted by the Voyageurs supporters group, which named midfielder-striker Tomasz Radzinski winner of its Canadian International Player of the Year.
Earlier this week, Sinclair's teammate Jonelle Filigno and Nana Attakora-Gyan were named winners of the Canadian U-20 Players of the Year award while Monica Lam-Feist and Russell Teibert shared the Canadian U-17 Players of the Year award.
