BRIEF-Soccer-Schwarzer named Australian player of the year

SYDNEY, June 12 (Reuters) - Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has been named Australia's footballer of the year after a superb season.

The 36-year-old did not concede a single goal in Australia's last seven World Cup qualifiers, ensuring the Socceroos were one of the first teams through to next year's World Cup in South Africa.

"It's been a fantastic season," said Schwarzer, now in his 16th season with the Socceroos. "Obviously you have dreams and ambitions in life and I've been very fortunate to live out my dream and along the way accomplish a lot of my life-long goals."

Midfielder Tim Cahill was voted by his peers as the Australian players' player of the year.

(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Alan Baldwin. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)