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Schweinsteiger: "A big honor"
Fitting. The German Player of the Year comes from the center of the team that won the first Treble in German history, literally.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was the man, and Kicker made him German player of the year.
Schweinsteiger (92 of the 527 total votes) beat out fellow midfielders Franck Ribery (87) and Thomas Müller (85) for the award, with nine Bayern players finishing in the top 15 of voting.
The German International scored 9 goals and assisted on 9 others in 45 appearances, all while playing a holding midfield position in Bayern's 4-2-3-1. After having calf issues in the off season, he came off the bench in the DFL Supercup, putting in a 23 minute shift in the second half.
The 28-year-old was humble in his acceptance, deflecting the spotlight from himself.
"This title is also for the team. It surprises me a bit because there were times when a lot of critical things were reported about me."
Jupp Heynckes's victory was a little more, well, decisive. The retired Bayern manager received 383 of the 527 votes for German Manager of the Year, beating out Christian Streich of SC Freiburg (77 votes) and Jürgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund (19 votes).
"This award provides the fairytale ending. Dreams have become reality."
Jupp Heynckes, Kicker via FC Bayern Website
Is Bastian Schweinsteiger your German Player of the Year? Vote and comment on what you think!
Lewandowski: "I have a few problems with other people"
Right when the saga looked over, the media probed Robert Lewandowski on his connection with Bayern after the DFL Supercup on Saturday.
What. A. Response.
"The issue is settled. I feel good in the team, but I have a few problems with other people. It was a hard issue."
Robert Lewandowski, Sky via tz-online
Just a quick question: If he is so happy with Borussia Dortmund, why even bring up, especially publically, that he has problems with other people?
This smells like a latent resentment from Lewandowski. This is something that may be dormant for a while, but may wake up inside him and cause a dressing room problem.
Hoeneß Convinced of Positive Outcome
Of all the things the press has revealed about Hoeneß-gate to the public, not a lot have been quotes from Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß himself.
Hoeneß projected conficence when he spoke before the Uli Hoeneß Cup against FC Barcelona that his tax affair will end in a positive way.
"I am relatively confident that it will have a good ending."
"I will wait in all privacy on how the Tax affair ends, then I will see how it will go forward. At this moment I can't say anything terminally."
Uli Hoeneß, Kicker
After the press laid out a grim path for the FC Bayern President, a possibility of parole shed a little more of a positive light on the situation.
The case will appear before court in September, so the conclusion of this affair, whether positive or negative, is right around the corner.
In Case You Missed It:
Thiago Alcântara did an interview with RAC1 radio in Spain, and he not only denied extensive interest from Manchester United, but also unearthed a lack of commitment from the Blaugrana.
On Manchester United
"The truth is that in no moment did United come to us and talk to us. It came from the press, it was always a lie."
On FC Barcelona
"It's unfair to say I wasn't patient. The club knew my situation. I waited for them, especially before the European Championships, but they never contacted me. I didn't feel valued.
"I wanted to compete. The club knew that I wanted to leave and they didn't do much to change that.
"Everyone looks out for their interests, I wanted to feel valued and I wanted to compete so I decided to leave the club and join Bayern.
"I was waiting and waiting all summer, there was a point when I had to decide.
"All a footballer wants is to play football and I wanted to play, they [Barcelona] didn't do much for me to stay, so here I am."'
Thiago Alcântara, RAC1 via ESPN FC
He also headlined in FIFA's quotes of the week, once again talking about Barcelona.
"I wanted to feel valued. During the summer I was very patient, waiting and waiting for Barça to make me an offer, but there comes a stopping point. Even though they knew I wanted to leave, nobody from the club got in contact to try and persuade me to stay."
Thiago Alcântara, FIFA.com
Pep Guardiola has definitely given Thiago what he wanted, as the 22-year-old Spanish international has seen the field in every game since holding up his No.6 jersey in front of reporters just two weeks ago. He even got a four-year contract to boot, so he does not have to worry about club commitment for the time being.
As always, post anything you hear, you want to hear, or you want to stop hearing.
Enjoy your week! And thanks for reading!