(Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail)
Florian Wirtz Named Germany’s Player of the Year 2024-25, Schuster Wins Coaching Honor
BERLIN — Liverpool star Florian Wirtz has been crowned Germany’s Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season after another stellar campaign with Bayer Leverkusen, while Freiburg’s Julian Schuster took home the Coach of the Year award.
In the women’s category, national team teammates Giulia Gwinn and Ann-Katrin Berger shared the Women’s Player of the Year title, each receiving 608 votes. The annual awards are organized by Kicker magazine and voted on by members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS).
Wirtz, 22, completed a high-profile move to Liverpool in June for a fee that could rise to £116 million ($156 million). He received 191 votes, finishing ahead of Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise (81 votes), Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade (71), and Bayern legend Thomas Müller (70), who recently joined MLS side Vancouver after a glittering career in Germany.
Former winner Toni Kroos praised Wirtz, saying, “I can’t think of a more worthy successor than you.”
On the coaching front, Schuster guided Freiburg to an impressive fifth-place Bundesliga finish, securing Europa League qualification in his first season after replacing long-time boss Christian Streich. He beat out Horst Steffen, who nearly took Elversberg to Bundesliga promotion, and 2020 winner Hansi Flick, who led Barcelona to a domestic double.
