Philipp Lahm is the German Footballer of the Year

In a vote organized by kicker, retired Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm was named German Footballer of the Year for the 2016/17 season. With votes cast by members of the Association of German Sports Journalists, Lahm was named the winner with 242 votes, beating out the likes of Toni Kroos (192 votes) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (120 votes). In total, 882 journalists took part in the 85th edition of the prestigious award.

Lahm, who led Bayern to a record fifth consecutive title, had this to say:

It’s a real honor and I’m truly pleased with it. I think the journalists in the vote have watched me for my entire career.

He had previously come second and third in the 2004 and 2006 awards respectively. The win could be considered a lifetime achievement award for world cup and treble-winning captain, who admitted that it was “incredibly tough for a defender to be named Footballer of the Year” due to the competition with forwards.

Lahm and Kimmich win individual awards

Philipp Lahm was awarded the Bavarian Sport Award for the second time this week. Bavaria’s Minister President Horst Seehofer had this to say:

Philipp Lahm is an exceptional footballing talent and an amazing person. His career has been shaped by his intelligence, well-spoken manner, determination and the right intuition. And he has always remained faithful. He is a true role model both on and off the pitch. Not everyone in football can say that about themselves

His teammate and Bayern youngster Joshua Kimmich was also honoured in the category “Outstanding Young Sportsman/woman.”