Lahm & Co top prestigious Chinese poll

Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer, Mario Götze, Thomas Müller, Jérôme Boateng and all the other German World Cup winners have received another prestigious award. In a vote among journalists at Titan Sports, China’s biggest sports publication, the Germany national team was named “Role Model of the Year”. The poll considered two categories, national and international, with no distinction between individual athletes and teams. Tennis star Na Li retained the national crown, with Boateng and Co winning the international prize ahead of Atlético Madrid and NBA basketball cracks San Antonio Spurs. FC Bayern were last year’s “Role Model of the Year” following their historic treble.

Quote of the day

“I’ll certainly keep an eye on it. It definitely won’t be a set-piece football afternoon with crisps and beer on the coach at 3.30 pm, but thanks to smartphones you can also keep up with it if you find yourself doing something else.”
(Thomas Müller on the first Bundesliga Saturday after the winter break)