A trophy to top the year off at FC Bayern. The German record champions received the Team of the Year award on Sunday evening. Chief Executive Officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Board Member for Sport Hasan Salihamidžić and defender Niklas Süle accepted the award on behalf of the team at the awards ceremony for Germany's Sportsman of the Year in Baden-Baden, South-West Germany.
Bayern, who can look back on a perfect year on the pitch after winning five trophies, came out on top in an online vote of 960 sports journalists ahead of tennis doubles pair Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies and the bobsleigh team, led by Francesco Friedrich. Former boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko congratulated Hansi Flick's team in his speech: "Congratulations to FC Bayern. You are not only the team of the year, you are, in my opinion, the best team in the world." Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the award ceremony, broadcast on ZDF, this year took place with a very limited number of guests and no audience.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, CEO: "It's a great honour to be awarded Team of the Year at the ZDF Sports Awards. This is the reward for an outstanding year in which FC Bayern has won all there is to win on the football field. On behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to congratulate the coaching team, led by Hansi Flick, as well as the entire team."
Hasan Salihamidžić, Board Member for Sport: "2020 was great for all of us at FC Bayern from a sporting perspective. The legendary treble, a total of five titles, unforgettable matches and outstanding team spirit throughout. Every single person from the coaching team to the players to the support staff deserves this title, every single person deserves our recognition for this great achievement."
Niklas Süle: "As a child, I used to watch the ZDF Sports Awards on the TV, and now Ive been given the opportunity to stand here and hold up this traditional trophy in my own hands as a representative of our entire team. I am very happy. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank everyone who voted for us. We take this award as motivation to try to defend as many of these titles as possible."
Last Thursday, Robert Lewandowski was awarded World Footballer of the Year at the FIFA Best Awards:
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