Goalscorer of the Season: Stefan Kießling
Munich - There was the unmistakeable sense of coming full circle for Stefan Kießling on the final day of the 2012/13 season, when the forward's last-gasp strike not only secured Bayer 04 Leverkusen three points at Hamburger SV, but also an inaugural Bundesliga top-goalscorer's cannon at the stadium where the 29-year-old had made his top flight debut ten years earlier.
Recipe for Success
is only the second Leverkusen player to top the league's scoring charts, with the former 1. FC Nuremberg frontman's tally of 25 beating Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski by one. In topping the pile, "Kieß" followed in the footsteps of former Werkself striker Ulf Kirsten, who was thrice the league's sharpest-shooter in the 1990s. More impressively, though, is that Kießling's haul also beat Kirsten's single-season best of 22 goals, furnishing Leverkusen's No11 with an additional accolade.
"I'm extremely proud to have achieved this," said Kießling, who is as renowned for his friendly and modest character as for the tireless workrate that has made him such a hit with fans and team-mates alike.
"Recipe for Success" is the title of a cookbook Kießling published last year, and given the 98 goals he has scored in 220 Bundesliga outings for Bayer, there could hardly be a more appropriate heading.
End of Season awards
Coach | Player | Goalscorer | Promotee | Leader | Comeback | Transfers | Jinxed player | Personality | Swap | Departure | Tragic Hero
