Harry Kane, Giulia Gwinn are Germany’s players of the year
Aug 23, 2026, 4:20 AM
Bayern's Harry Kane kicks the ball during the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Credit: AP Photo/Martin Meissner
(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Giulia Gwinn have won Germany’s player of the year awards for 2026.
Bayern’s Vincent Kompany won the coach’s accolade, Kicker magazine announced Sunday, according to the results of its yearly polls of members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS).
Kane scored 61 goals across all competitions, including the German Supercup for Bayern last season, helping the men’s team defend its Bundesliga title and win the German Cup. He scored a hat trick in the cup final.
Kane also helped Bayern win the new season’s German Supercup with a 2-1 win at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, though he didn’t score in that game.
This time Gwinn doesn’t need to share it.
Last year, the 27-year-old Gwinn and Germany teammate Ann-Katrin Berger received the same number of votes for the award.
Kicker said Sunday that Gwinn received 106 votes to finish ahead of Bayern teammate Klara Bühl and Jule Brand of French champion OL Lyonnes.
Gwinn and Bühl helped Bayern to a Bundesliga and German Cup double for the second year in a row last season. Bayern’s Bundesliga title was its fourth straight and its fifth from six years as the Bavarian powerhouse’s women’s team proves as dominant as its men.
Bayern reached the semifinals of the Women’s Champions League last season.
The women’s player of the year award has been awarded since 1996. Three-time world player of the year Birgit Prinz, who played for FFC Frankfurt (now called Eintracht Frankfurt), won the award eight times between 2001-08.
Kane gathered more votes (272) than teammate Michael Olise (203), Kicker said.
Stuttgart forward Deniz Undav received 61 votes, followed by Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich (21) and Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann (14). There were three invalid votes.
Kompany received nearly half the votes for the coach’s award, more than Freiburg’s Julian Schuster, who won it last year.
Florian Wirtz won the men’s player’s award last year.
The men’s player of the year accolade has been awarded since 1960, with the coaches honored since 2002. Franz Beckenbauer leads the player category with four wins, while Jürgen Klopp and Felix Magath both won the coach’s award three times.
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