Naldo crowned Player of the Season, Tedesco voted best coach

Almost one in five voted for Naldo

Naldo reset the record-books. Not since 1999 has a defender topped the table in the ‘Outfield Player of the Season’ survey. With 19.7% of the vote, almost one in five Bundesliga players went for the Brazilian, who didn’t miss a single minute of league football last season.

Naldo was the league’s top tackler, winning 74.1% of his 50-50 duels. However, he also posed a serious attacking threat. The centre-back netted seven goals, including vital strikes in the 4-4 home derby against Dortmund as well as the 2-0 away fixture.

In the survey, Bayern München’s Robert Lewandowski (16.8%) and Joshua Kimmich (13.4%) took second and third place.

Tedesco streets ahead

Runners-up, Champions League qualifiers, derby winners. An incredible effort for your first season in the Bundesliga. Domenico Tedesco, who had saved FC Erzgebirge Aue from relegation to the third division, guided the Royal-Blues back to the top of the Bundesliga. His record: P34 W18 D9 L7. He also took his team into the DFB-Pokal semi finals, narrowly losing out on a place in the final due to an unfortunate result against Eintracht Frankfurt.

After all his hard work, Tedesco ought to enjoy the crown of ‘Coach of the Season’. The 32-year-old bagged a resounding 30.7% of the 248 votes. Niko Kovac of DFB-Pokal winners Eintracht Frankfurt took second (15.5%) while VfB Stuttgart’s Tayfun Korkut came in third (14.7%).

S04 Surprise of the Season

Over the last few months, the Royal-Blues have week in week out proved themselves to be a much tougher opponent than expected. 24.4% of voters went for FC Schalke as the biggest surprise of the Season in the Kicker survey. VfB Stuttgart followed in second (21.8%) and Eintracht Frankfurt in third (19.7%).