Harry Kane has been voted Germany’s Footballer of the Year for 2026, becoming the first Englishman to win the prestigious award. The Bayern Munich striker topped the annual poll organised by Kicker magazine and voted on by members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS).
Kane received 272 votes, finishing clear of his Bayern teammate Michael Olise (203 votes). VfB Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav placed a distant third with 61 votes. Bayern captain Joshua Kimmich and Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann also featured in the top five.
At the same time, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was named Coach of the Year, while Bayern women’s defender Giulia Gwinn claimed the Women’s Player of the Year award. It marked a clean sweep for the Munich club and the first time both the men’s and women’s player awards have gone to the same team in the same year.
Kane’s Outstanding Season
The England captain’s recognition follows a remarkable 2025-26 Bundesliga campaign. Kane scored 61 goals in 51 competitive appearances for Bayern, helping the side complete a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double while reaching the Champions League semi-finals. He also scored a hat-trick in the German Cup final.
His form continued into the new season. On Saturday, Kane featured as Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to win the German Super Cup (Franz Beckenbauer Supercup). The previous week he had collected the European Golden Shoe as the continent’s leading scorer.
“It’s almost impossible to find the right superlatives to describe Harry Kane – sometimes I’m at a loss for words,” said Bayern sporting director Max Eberl. “He’s already been named England’s Footballer of the Year, and now he’s also won it in Germany.”
Kane, 33, has been the Bundesliga’s top scorer in each of his three seasons at the club since joining from Tottenham Hotspur. He is widely regarded as one of the leading contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded in London in October. If successful, he would become only the second English player to win the award while playing for a German club, after Kevin Keegan (Hamburg, 1978 and 1979).
Kompany’s Coaching Success
Vincent Kompany dominated the Coach of the Year vote, receiving 314 ballots — nearly half of those cast. Last year’s winner Julian Schuster of Freiburg finished second with 87 votes, while VfB Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeneß took third place with 53.
Under Kompany, Bayern retained their domestic dominance and showed strong progress in Europe. The Belgian has been widely praised for improving the squad’s intensity and tactical organisation since taking charge.
Schuster himself congratulated his counterpart, saying: “You are not only a good coach, but you also make everyone around you better.”
Gwinn Completes Bayern Sweep
On the women’s side, Giulia Gwinn was named Player of the Year with 106 votes. The Bayern captain claimed the award outright after sharing it the previous year. Her recognition came despite a season disrupted by injury, underlining her importance to both club and country.
Bayern president Herbert Hainer highlighted the historic nature of the triple success: “Never before have both the men’s and women’s Player of the Year awards gone to the same club. When men’s and women’s football write history together, that is FC Bayern.”
Voting and History
The awards are decided by members of the German sports journalists’ association. Eligible players include those in the Bundesliga (regardless of nationality) and German players based abroad. The men’s player award has been presented since 1960; the coaching award dates back to 2002.
Franz Beckenbauer remains the most successful player in the history of the prize with four wins. Jürgen Klopp and Felix Magath share the record for most coaching awards with three each.
Kane and Kompany are due to be formally honoured during Bayern’s Bundesliga opener against VfB Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena on Friday.
Looking Ahead
Kane’s individual recognition adds another milestone to an already glittering career. After leading England to the World Cup semi-finals earlier this summer and continuing his prolific scoring record in Germany, the striker enters the new season as one of Europe’s most decorated and consistent forwards.
For Bayern, the awards serve as further validation of a successful period under Kompany and reinforce the club’s dominance on both the men’s and women’s sides of German football.
With the Ballon d’Or still to come and another Bundesliga campaign underway, Kane’s place among the game’s elite looks more secure than ever.
