Harry Kane named Germany's Footballer of the Year
Harry Kane has picked up yet another award. Bayern Munich's English goal machine, who recently won the European Golden Shoe, has been named Germany’s Footballer of the Year for 2026. In the vote organised by kicker magazine, the 33-year-old striker held off the challenge of team-mate Michael Olise to scoop the prize. Vincent Kompany also clinched the Coach of the Year award.
Despite the wealth of awards accrued over the course of his Bayern career, this is the first time in his career Kane has been named Germany’s Footballer of the Year. In so doing, the English striker succeeds Florian Wirtz, who received the award last time out in 2025.
Picking up 272 out of 659 votes from members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS), Kane was the clear winner, with his team-mate Michael Olise (203 votes) finishing in second place, just as he did last year.
"It's almost impossible to find the right superlatives to describe Harry Kane – sometimes I'm at a loss for words," said Bayern's board member for sport Max Eberl. "He's already been named England's Footballer of the Year, and now he's also won it in Germany. It just goes to show that wherever Harry Kane goes, success follows."
This is Kane's third prize in quick succession: earlier this week, the free-scoring forward - who registered a staggering 36 goals in the Bundesliga alone last season - was awarded the European Golden Shoe as the continent's leading goalscorer for the 2025/26 season.
Subsequently, he won the 2026 Franz Beckenbauer Supercup with Bayern, who defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Saturday evening, although the recordbreaking striker was unable to find the net himself in that match.
The record champions also enjoyed success in the Coach of the Year category: Vincent Kompany, who led Bayern to the league and DFB Cup double last season, emerged victorious with 314 votes, well ahead of last year’s winner Julian Schuster (87 votes).
The Bayern head coach was praised for his “empathetic and likeable public image”, which, due to the Belgian’s eloquent manner, has had an impact far beyond simply what goes on in and around the stadia, even notably touching on issues such as racism in football.
Additionally, Giulia Gwinn, captain of Bayern's women's team, won the award for Germany's women's Footballer of the Year, completing something of a clean sweep for the Munich club. “Never before have both the Men’s and Women’s Footballer of the Year come from the same club,” said Bayern president Herbert Hainer, clearly delighted.
According to kicker, the winners will receive their awards on Friday at the Bundesliga curtain-raiser between Bayern and Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena. The Footballer of the Year award has been presented since 1960, while the Coach of the Year award has been handed out since 2002.
Among the players, Franz Beckenbauer is the record holder with four wins, meanwhile Jürgen Klopp and Felix Magath lead the way in the managerial category, having each earned the coaching accolade three times apiece.
