Standard Liege skipper Steven Defour claimed the award after a fierce competition with the Egypt captain.

Hassan also finished second in 2006 behind then-teammate Mohamed Tchite, currently at Racing Santander.

The 32-year-old Hassan insisted he is fully focused now on Egypt's African Cup of Nations campaign as the Pharaohs chase a second successive title.

"I'm not sad to finish second, I have much more important target in Ghana," Hassan told FilGoal.com after the results were announced.

"Defending our title represents a dream for Egyptian people whereas the award is just a personal achievement."

Egypt open their campaign against Cameroon in Kumasi on Tuesday.

Still Confident

Despite narrowly failing to claim the award, Hassan is not downhearted.

"I fully trust my abilities especially that statistics clearly show that I was superior to Defour in 2007," he said.

Defour scored three goals and made four assists in 2007 while Hassan bagged 13 goals and made six assists.

He also helped Anderlecht win the Belgian League title and claim the Super Cup while his opponent won nothing with Standard Liege.