Black Stars midfielder Michael Essien is thrilled after being named the 2006 BBC footballer of the Year last Friday.The Chelsea player was named the sixth recipient of the award following polls conducted by BBC.Essien won 8000 votes, representing 66% of the about twelve thousand votes cast. The former Liberty Professionals player told the BBC’s Ibrahim Sannie Darrah that winning the award meant a lot to him.He said it would urge him on to continue to give his best yet and thanked all fans who voted that massively for him, explaining that the judgement of fans was key in the game of football.