Toni Kroos has been announced as the player of the year for the 2023-24 season in Germany, while Xabi Alonso has been recognised as the top coach for leading Bayer Leverkusen to an undefeated season and the Bundesliga title.
Kroos, who is 34 years old, has now received this award for the second time after winning it in 2018. He recently retired from his illustrious playing career after Germany’s exit from the European Championship, where he played a vital role in Real Madrid’s double win in the Champions League and Spanish league last season. In the poll conducted by German sports magazine Kicker, Kroos received 285 votes, with his Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz coming in second with 246 votes, and Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka also from Leverkusen receiving 66 votes.
The success of Leverkusen, who ended Bayern Munich’s 11-year Bundesliga reign and remained unbeaten throughout the season, also resulted in Alonso being named coach of the year for the first time. Leverkusen also claimed the German Cup, completing a domestic double without suffering any losses. The 42-year-old Alonso took over as coach of Leverkusen in October 2022 when the team was second from the bottom in the Bundesliga. He received 503 votes in the Kicker poll, beating out Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß (42) and Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt (50). While Stuttgart finished second in the Bundesliga, Heidenheim, who was promoted under Schmidt’s leadership the previous season, secured an impressive eighth place finish in their first ever top-flight season.
