Manuel Neuer wins German Footballer of the Year award

Zee Media Bureau/Jayanta Oinam

New Delhi: Bayern Munich goal-keeper Manuel Neuer wins the German Footballer of the Year award for the 2013-14 season following a title winning season. The 27-year-old Gelsenkirchen resident helped his club to the Bundesliga title, which was followed by a stunning display in the 2014 Brazil World Cup with the German national team. Regarded as one of the best sweeper-keepers in the world, Neuer played a pivotal role in their title winning campaigns by serving as an extra outfield player. Bayern Munich tweeted images of Neuer celebrating with the team:

.@Manuel_Neuer is Germany's Footballer of the Year! Congratulations, Manu! #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/CYars8Cc30

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 10, 2014

Famous German football magazine Kicker selected the winner of the award through a poll. In a Bayern Munich dominated field, Neuer polled 144 of 701 votes to pip Borussia Dortmund play-maker Marco Reus, who got 135 votes. As many as five Bayern players were ranked in the top ten list. The former Schalke 04 goal-keeper is the fourth goalkeeper to win the award, a list which includes legends like Sepp Maier, Harald Schumacher and Oliver Kahn. He had earlier won the award in 2011 in his first year with the Bavarian club. The World Cup winning goalie tweeted expressing his gratitude

"It's a great honour for me," said @Manuel_Neuer after being named Germany's Footballer of the Year. Read more: http://t.co/DcBtcC0INF— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 10, 2014