MUNICH – After winning a treble of trophies with Bayern Munich, striker Robert Lewandowski was named Germany's footballer of the year in a vote organised by football magazine Kicker.
Lewandowski, a 32-year-old Polish international, won the award for the first time, having received 276 votes of surveyed sports journalists, a result that put him well ahead of Bayern team-mates Thomas Muller (54 votes) and Joshua Kimmich (49).
Lewandowski said on Sunday he was "very proud" of the award. He is the first foreign winner since Kevin de Bruyne in 2015.
The coach-of-the-year title was awarded to the Bayern coach, 55-year-old Hansi Flick, ahead of Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp.
In the 2019/2020 season, Lewandowski was top scorer in the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup, all of which Bayern won.
🔴 Bayern = second club in history to win treble twice!
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 27, 2020
2012/13 🏆🏆🏆
2019/20 🏆🏆🏆@FCBayernEN | #UCL pic.twitter.com/B0eJqN8Y3i
Despite these achievements, the Polish striker missed out on France Football's prestigious Ballon d'Or award, cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This decision was lamented by Bayern officials.
The Bayern striker considers himself worthy of the accolade. In an interview on Friday for a Polish sports website he declared that he would award the Ballon d'Or to himself.
"We won with Bayern everything there was to win. In all of these tournaments – the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League – I was the best scorer... Isn't it like this: that every football player who achieved what I have would win the Ballon d'Or?"
Meanwhile Wolfsburg's Pernille Harder made history as the first foreigner to win the women's player-of-the-year award.
Pernille said it was a "particular honour" to be the first foreign woman to win. With 212 votes she was a clear winner ahead of team-mate Alexandra Popp (76 votes).
Harder will be a key player for Wolfsburg as they contest the Champions League final against Lyon later on Sunday. But it could be her last game for the club, with a move to Chelsea rumoured.
DPA