German sport journalists have voted Germany's international Jerome Boateng as Player of the Year, following a poll by renowned sports magazine Kicker on Sunday.
The 27-year-old centre-back earned 163 votes from 674 votes counted becoming the second defender, after Juergen Kohler in 1997, to win the poll. Boateng follows former Wolfsburg player Kevin De Bruyne, who won the poll last year, reports Xinhua.
Boateng's Bayern team-mates Thomas Mueller, with 95 votes, and Robert Lewandowski, with 90 votes, finished on the second and third places, respectively, to round off the poll for the German champions.
"I have not expected this. I am of course incredibly proud that I have been able to achieve something like that," Boateng said.
The German international joined Bayern Munich in 2011 from English Premier League outfit Manchester United.
Since his arrival in Munich, he has provided three goals in 124 competitive outings. He lifted with the German giants the Champions League title in 2013 and won the domestic league title four straight times, as well as the German Cup three times.
Former Darmstadt coach, and now Augsburg coach, Dirk Schuster reaped the award as the Coach of the Year with 256 votes, followed by Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel with 134 votes and Josep Guardiola with 54 votes.
"I accept this award not for me but for the representatives of the entire club," Dirk Schuster said on Sunday.
Wolfsburg' s Alexandra Popp has been named as the Player of the Year in the women' s competition with 109 votes.
The poll for the Player of the Year initiated by the magazine takes place since 1960 among the members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS).
--IANS
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