football
Triple winner Gündogan is footballer of the year
Soccer professional Ilkay Gündogan after the treble win with Manchester City. Gündogan was voted Germany’s footballer of the year. photo
© Martin Rickett/Press Association/dpa
Ilkay Gündogan has been voted footballer of the year – and should become even more important in the national team in the future. Urs Fischer is the head coach.
national player Ilkay Gündogan has been voted Germany’s footballer of the year for the first time.
The 32-year-old, who switched from Manchester City to FC Barcelona this summer, won the journalists’ vote organized by “Kicker” with 198 votes, well ahead of Bundesliga strikers Niclas Füllkrug (88) from SV Werder Bremen and Randal Kolo Muani (69) by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Urs Fischer, who led 1. FC Union Berlin to the Champions League for the first time, was voted the best coach of the 2022/2023 season. The Swiss triumphed with 293 votes, clearly ahead of Frank Schmidt (63) from Bundesliga promoted 1. FC Heidenheim and Christian Streich (62), who has again reached the Europa League with SC Freiburg.
The elections for female footballer of the year will not be completed until August 20 due to the ongoing World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Sané: “Absolutely deserved”
The award feels “like a reward for hard work,” said Gündogan. “I think it’s a very, very nice recognition.” The midfielder captained City last season to a treble of league, national cup and Champions League. He then said goodbye after a total of seven years at the top English club and moved on to FC Barcelona in Spain.
“This award is absolutely deserved. Ilkay has worked a lot for it in recent years,” said national team colleague Leroy Sané from FC Bayern Munich, who once played with Gündogan in Manchester. “His performances, especially in the final phase of the season at ManCity, were unbelievable. I’m happy for him that he’s now also being appreciated in Germany.”
In the national team, for which he has played 67 international matches so far, Gündogan should focus even more on the home European Championship in the coming year. He had to “take even more leadership,” national coach Hansi Flick recently told the “kicker”. “Because of his performance and the way he is, he is totally recognized in the team. Ilkay has everything he needs to move forward. And that’s what we expect from him.”
Fischer: “You won’t be able to do it as an individual”
The election result pleases him and makes him proud, said Union coach Fischer. “But you won’t be able to do it as an individual, behind such an award there is always a team, a club. They all help that you can receive such an honor at the end.” The 57-year-old has been the coach of Köpenicker since 2018. Since then he led them first from the second to the first division, then to the Conference League and the Europa League and now, for the first time, to the premier class.
“Urs and Union Berlin have worked smart and have achieved great things since they were promoted to the Bundesliga,” praised his Freiburg colleague Streich, who was named coach of the year last year.