Created on 16-12-2013 at 09:10 AM
FC Bayern were honoured again on Sunday evening when the treble winners were named Germany’s Team of the Year 2013. FCB amassed 3,782 points to comfortably top the long-running annual poll of German sports journalists. Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Holger Badstuber accepted the award on behalf of the club.
“People will be talking about the golden Wembley generation in 20, 30, 40 years,“ declared Rummenigge at the awards ceremony in the famous Baden-Baden Kurhaus. The chairman praised the players whose treble triumph means 2013 is the most successful year in the long history of the club. “These lads are the best ambassadors FC Bayern could ever wish for,” the former striker continued.
Tribute to Jupp and Pep
Addressing the audience of 700 including IOC President Thomas Bach, Rummenigge also poured lavish praise on the trophy-winning coaches. “Jupp Heynckes and Pep Guardiola have elevated FC Bayern to unbelievable heights,” the chairman said, “we’ll be eternally grateful to Jupp Heynckes for such a successful era.”
The association of German sports journalists first presented awards for the Sports Personality of the Year in 1947, with the Team of the Year accolade introduced a decade later. FC Bayern previously claimed the award in 1967 and 2001. The runners-up in this year’s Team of the Year award were the German women’s national team (1,562 points) and women’s treble winners VfL Wolfsburg (1,134). Robert Harting (discus) was named sportsman of the year, with Christina Obergföll (javelin) taking the sportswoman of the year honours.