Treble winner Bastian Schweinsteiger named 2013 Player of the Year

Bastian Schweinsteiger has been voted Germany’s Player of the Year for 2013. The treble-winning Bayern Munich midfielder received 92 of the total 527 ballots cast by sports journalists in the 54th edition of the vote, organised by kicker magazine. The Germany international pipped his team-mates Franck Ribéry (87) and Thomas Müller (85) to the title. Jupp Heynckes, Pep Guardiola’s predecessor at Bayern, was named as Coach of the Year, while Martina Müller, a treble-winner herself with VfL Wolfsburg, was crowned Women’s Player of the Year.

Unexpected honour

"I'm a bit surprised really," Schweinsteiger told kicker, "because there were times when quite a lot of criticism was directed at me." The 28-year-old was also keen to emphasise the collective importance of the accolade, which he will be officially presented with on 9 August ahead of Bayern’s opening Bundesliga game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, describing it as "a title for the team".

Indeed, the Bavarians provided nine of the top 15 players in the vote, with defeated Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund contributing five. Bundesliga top scorer Stefan Kießling from Bayer Leverkusen completed the list, finishing in sixth place, while last year’s winner Marco Reus came in 11th.

Heynckes: "These are all dreams come true"

Heynckes, who received 383 votes, called the award a "wonderful conclusion" to his decades-long career in the game, adding: "This honour is a fairytale way of rounding it all off. These are all dreams come true." SC Freiburg coach Christian Streich (77 votes) and Dortmund’s Jürgen Klopp (19) completed the podium positions.

Müller taken aback

However, Bayern ended up empty handed in the women’s ballot, with Wolfsburg’s Martina Müller taking 117 of the 418 votes, beating Germany international Celia Okoyino da Mbabi (70 votes) and club colleague Lena Goeßling (44) to the prize.

"It was a huge surprise for me," said Müller, who called time on her Germany career last November after earning 101 caps. "It’s not something I’d ever thought about, it seemed a long way off for me and I wasn’t expecting it at all. I’d never claim that I deserve it."