Belgian winger Kevin de Bruyne has been voted Germany’s footballer of the year by sports journalists. He is just the fifth foreign player to win the award since it was established 55 years ago.
Germany’s “Kicker” magazine, which organizes the poll of sports journalists, reported that De Bruyne won this year’s title easily, receiving 367 of the 814 votes.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben, of the Netherlands was second, with 94 votes, beating last year’s winner, Bayern and national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who received third place, on 67 votes.
Scoring 10 goals with 21 assists, the 24-year-old De Bruyne played a vital role in helping Wolfsburg climb to second place in the Bundesliga and win the German Cup.
“To be voted best player in another country is something. It’s recognition for my season,” De Bruyne told “Kicker” in a interview to be published on Monday.
The other foreign players to win the prize have been Ailton, Franck Ribery, Grafite and Robben.
His team scored another success in the poll, with Wolfburg’s Dieter Hecking, 50, voted coach of the year narrowly ahead of Augsburg’s Markus Weinzierl, with Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Lucien Favre taking third place.
tj/mkg (AP, AFP)
