Marco Reus named Footballer of the Year 2019

Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus has been voted the Footballer of the Year in Germany for 2019.

The 30-year-old received 158 of the 540 votes from members of the Association of German Sports Journalists to claim the annual accolade by sports magazine kicker. Eligible are any player in Germany and German players abroad.

He beat out Bayer Leverkusen starlet Kai Havertz (121 votes) and Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich (35) thanks to a campaign that saw the 41-time Germany international register 17 goals and eight assists in just 27 Bundesliga appearances.

“It’s a special award and just nice that the work and effort you’ve put in has been recognised,” Reus said of his accolade. “Of course this wouldn’t have been possible without my teammates and the team behind the team, so a huge thanks to them as well.”

The Dortmund skipper succeeds Toni Kroos as the winner of the prestigious award and is the fourth BVB player ever to claim it after Hans Tilkowski (1965), Matthias Sammer (1995 and 1996) and Jürgen Kohler (1997).

However, it is not the first time the forward has won the honour. He was named Footballer of the Year back in 2012 as a Borussia Mönchengladbach player and is now one of just 15 players to receive the award multiple times.

Reus admitted, though, that it feels better this time around, telling kicker: “It’s nicer than it was last time, a different feeling than seven years ago.

“It’s tough to come back from a bad injury like I had in 2017 and become Footballer of the Year. That really makes me proud.

“This is recognition of my performances in the last two years.”

Reus will likely make his first competitive appearance since receiving the award on Saturday, 3 August when his Dortmund side host Bayern in the season-opening Supercupat the Signal Iduna Park.

BVB then face Uerdingen in the first round of the DFB Cup the following week before beginning their Bundesliga campaign at home to Augsburg on Saturday, 17 August.