In this thread the results of all polls of the "German Footballer of the Year" (Fussballer des Jahres) since 1960 are taken into account. The information is taken directly from the respective issue of "Kicker" magazine. FACTS AND FEATS Highest Number of Votes in One Year - in absolute numbers - 817 Kahn (2001) 556 Matthäus (1999) 538 Klinsmann (1988) 532 Klose (532) 516 Ballack (2005) 501 Bierhoff (1998) 470 Hässler (1992) 453 Breitner (1981) 443 Kuntz (1991) 433 Ballack (2002) 424 Sammer (1995) 417 G.Müller (1969) 417 Netzer (1972) 411 Beckenbauer (1974) 393 Klinsmann (1995) 379 Seeler (1960) 356 Seeler (1970) 345 Kahn (2002) 343 K.H.Rummenigge (1980) 305 Morlock (1961) 305 Beckenbauer (1966) - in relative numbers – As the number of sports journalists participating in the polls has increased significantly, the following list looks at the best results based on percentage of total votes: Percent – player (year – votes/total votes) 85 % Seeler (1960 – 379 of 449) 75 % Kahn (2001 – 817 of 1,091) 70 % Klinsmann (1988 – 538 of 764) 69 % Morlock (1961 – 305 of 443) 66 % Klose (2006 – 532 of 803) 60 % Netzer (1972 – 417 of 692) 59 % Beckenbauer (1974 – 411 of 701) 57 % Matthäus (1999 – 556 of 977) 55 % Beckenbauer (1966 – 305 of 558) 55 % K.H.Rummenigge (1980 – 343 of 619) 55 % Breitner (1981 – 453 of 818) 52 % Seeler (1970 – 356 of 687) 52 % Hässler (1992 – 470 of 903) 51 % Beckenbauer (1976 – 286 of 558) 51 % Ballack (2005 – 516 of 1,012) Highest accumulated Votes Total - in absolute numbers - 1,965 Beckenbauer 1,720 Kahn 1,506 Klinsmann 1,445 Matthäus 1,386 Ballack 1,019 G.Müller 981 Seeler 909 Maier 891 Vogts 828 Hässler 768 Völler 768 Sammer 749 K.H.Rummenigge 694 Breitner 691 Netzer 601 Schumacher 576 Bierhoff 574 Klose 498 Kuntz 399 Gomez 396 Köpke 389 Kohler 354 Morlock 331 Grafite 329 Kh.Förster 311 Diego 289 Ribéry 272 Briegel 256 Dietz 253 Schnellinger 252 Littbarski 252 Buchwald 248 H.Schäfer 238 Overath 224 Magath 222 Lahm 218 Thon 212 Effenberg 211 A.Möller 207 Tilkowski - in relative numbers – Since the first poll in 1960, the number of sports journalists that participated have increased notably over the years. In 1960, 445 votes were collected. In 2009, 974 votes were collected. The highest number of votes ever was in 2001 with 1,091. Over 1,000 votes were also registered in 1997, 1998 and 2005. The lowest number of votes ever was 294 in 1964. Because of this, the absolute number of votes received by a player over the course of his career is distorted when compared to those of players from other eras. To even out these differences, I looked at the number of votes a player gained during his career in relation to the total number of votes registered during his active playing time. E.g., Franz Beckenbauer gained ca. 21% of all registered votes during his active time. Between 1960 and 2009, in total 35,047 votes were registered. This means that Beckenbauer would have gathered some 7,325 votes (from 35,047) in total based on his 20.9 % during his active years. This way some kind of comparability of players from different decades is achieved: Number votes from total votes 1960 to 2009 (35,047) based on percentage during active career: 7,325 votes, 20.9 % Beckenbauer (1,965 of 9,383 during active career) 6,484 votes, 18.5 % Morlock (354 of 1,910) 5,292 votes, 15.1 % Seeler (981 of 6,487) 5,082 votes, 14.5 % Ballack (1,386 of 9,586) 4,521 votes, 12.9 % H.Schäfer (248 of 1,910) 4,206 votes, 12.0 % Klinsmann (1,506 of 12,512) 3,855 votes, 11.0 % Sammer (768 of 6,987) 3,785 votes, 10.8 % Kahn (1,720 of 15,969) 3,645 votes, 10.4 % Maier (909 of 8,756) 3,575 votes, 10.2 % Vogts (891 of 8,756) Most Successive Appearances in the Top 10 The most consistent players have been the following: 13 Beckenbauer (1966-1978) 7 Vogts (1973-1979) 7 K.H.Rummenigge (1978-1984) 6 G.Müller (1969-1974) 6 Maier (1974-1979) 6 Breitner (1978-1983) 6 Kh.Förster (1979-1984) 6 Völler (1983-1988) 6 Klinsmann (1993-1998) 5 Seeler (1968-1972) 5 Netzer (1969-1973) 5 Schumacher (1980-1984) 5 Völler (1990-1994) Biggest Lead The biggest domination of players in a single year: 2001 Kahn – 753 votes ahead of #2 1988 Klinsmann – 476 votes 2006 Klose – 450 votes 2005 Ballack – 413 votes 1999 Matthäus – 395 votes 1960 Seeler – 360 votes 1969 G.Müller – 357 votes 1992 Hässler – 329 votes 1991 Kuntz – 306 votes 1998 Bierhoff – 305 votes 1972 Netzer – 290 1974 Beckenbauer – 287 votes 1980 K.H.Rummenigge – 262 votes 1981 Breitner – 240 votes 1970 Seeler – 233 votes 1976 Beckenbauer – 229 votes Closest Winning Margin 1977 Maier – only 4 votes ahead of Fischer 1979 Vogts – only 4 votes ahead of Dietz 1985 Briegel – only 12 votes ahead of Völler 1996 Sammer – only 12 votes ahead of Klinsmann 1973 Netzer – only 14 votes ahead of Beckenbauer 1982 Kh.Förster – only 18 votes ahead of Littbarski 2007 Gomez – only 21 votes ahead of Diego Lowest Number of Votes in One Year sufficient to Win 102 H.Schäfer (1963) 104 Seeler (1964) 122 Maier (1977) 125 Briegel (1985) 128 Netzer (1973) 147 Tilkowski (1965) 149 Schnellinger (1962) 164 Kh.Förster (1982) 166 Sammer (1996) 172 Ailton (2004) 175 U.Rahn (1987) 177 Vogts (1979) 194 Köpke (1994) 196 Gomez (2007) Highest Number of Votes in One Year without Winning 393 Klinsmann (1995) 345 Kahn (2002) 213 K.H.Rummenigge (1981) 196 Matthäus (1998) 175 Diego (2007) 173 Dietz (1979) 171 Gomez (2009) Most Victories 4 times, Beckenbauer (1966, 1968, 1972, 1976) 3 times, Seeler (1960, 1964, 1970) 3 times, Maier (1975, 1977, 1978) 3 times, Ballack (2002, 2003, 2005) 2 times, G.Müller (1967, 1969) 2 times, Netzer (1972, 1973) 2 times, Vogts (1971, 1979) 2 times, Schumacher (1984, 1986) 2 times, Klinsmann (1988, 1994) 2 times, Hässler (1989, 1992) 2 times, Matthäus (1990, 1999) 2 times, Sammer (1994, 1995) 2 times, Kahn (2000, 2001) Runner-Up Most Often 4 times, Beckenbauer (1967, 1969, 1971, 1973) 3 times, Matthäus (1988, 1994, 1998) 2 times, Seeler (1961, 1966) 2 times, G.Müller (1970, 1972) 2 times, Magath (1983, 1986) 2 times, Klinsmann (1995, 1996) Longest Span between First and Last Win Players with the most longevity at the very top: 10 years, Seeler (between 1960 & 1970) 10 years, Beckenbauer (1966 & 1976) 9 years, Matthäus (1990 & 1999) 8 years, Vogts (1971 & 1979) 6 years, Klinsmann (1988 & 1994) Seeler and Beckenbauer are the only ones of these that managed to top the poll in between that span as well. Featured Most Consecutively in the Poll Players that managed to save a place in the poll year after year without a break: 14 years, Beckenbauer (from 1965 to 1978) 12 years, Klinsmann (from 1988 to 1999) 11 years, Matthäus (from 1984 to 1994) 10 years, Effenberg (from 1992 to 2001) 9 years, Maier (from 1972 to 1980) 9 years, Kh.Förster (from 1979 to 1987) 9 years, Köpke (from 1991 to 1999) 9 years, Kahn (from 1996 to 2004) 8 years, G.Müller (from 1969 to 1976) 8 years, Schumacher (from 1980 to 1987) 8 years, Hässler (from 1992 to 1999) 7 years, Seeler (from 1960 to 1966) 7 years, Netzer (from 1969 to 1975) 7 years, Dietz (from 1977 to 1983) 7 years, K.H.Rummenigge (from 1978 to 1984) 7 years, Stielike (from 1978 to 1984) 7 years, Briegel (from 1980 to 1986) 7 years, A.Möller (from 1992 to 1998) 7 years, Sammer (from 1991 to 1997) From Nowhere to the Top Players that managed to top the poll with their first ever appearance in a yearly poll (not counting Uwe Seeler in 1960): 1961 Morlock 1967 G.Müller 1983 Völler 1988 Klinsmann 1989 Hässler 2002 Ballack 2004 Ailton 2007 Gomez 2008 Ribéry 2009 Grafite Ailton is the only player ever to have been voted "German Footballer of the Year" to never be featured in another year’s poll. However it must be noted that "Kicker" only listed the Top 10 players from 2002 onwards and thus Ailton might have been featured in other years if the complete list had been published. Biggest Discrepancy between German & European Poll (Golden Ball) There have been 12 occasions in which the winner of the German poll failed to gain even a single vote in the European poll: 1963 H.Schäfer 1964 Seeler 1965 Tilkowski 1977 Maier 1978 Maier 1979 Vogts 1982 Kh.Förster 1987 U.Rahn 1991 Kuntz 1993 Köpke 2004 Ailton 2007 Gomez While most winners of the German poll managed a place in the European poll, the following only barely made it: 1983 Völler #33 in Europe 2000 Oliver Kahn # 24 in Europe 1989 Hässler #23 in Europe 1961 Morlock #23 in Europe Highest Congruence between German & European Poll There have been four occasions in which the winner of the German poll also topped the European poll: 1976 Beckenbauer 1980 K.H.Rummenigge 1990 Matthäus 1996 Sammer In 1972, the German Top 3 also was the European Top 3. In 1971, the entire German Top 5 was also part of the European Top 10. In 1975, five players of the German Top 10 also made the European Top 10. In 1970, 1974, 1980 & 1990 four players of the German Top 10 also made the European Top 10. The 'Alternate' List of German Football Players of the Year Just for fun, these are the players that made #2 in the respective years: 1960 Helmut RAHN 1961 Uwe SEELER 1962 Hans SCHÄFER 1963 Max MORLOCK 1964 Helmut HALLER 1965 Petar RADENKOVIC 1966 Uwe SEELER 1967 Franz BECKENBAUER 1968 Hermann NUBER 1969 Franz BECKENBAUER 1970 Gerd MÜLLER 1971 Franz BECKENBAUER 1972 Gerd MÜLLER 1973 Franz BECKENBAUER 1974 Berti VOGTS 1975 Berti VOGTS 1976 Rainer BONHOF 1977 Klaus FISCHER 1978 Jürgen GRABOWSKI 1979 Bernard DIETZ 1980 Paul BREITNER 1981 Karl-Heinz RUMMENIGGE 1982 Pierre LITTBARSKI 1983 Felix MAGATH 1984 Asgeir SIGURVINSSON 1985 Rudi VÖLLER 1986 Felix MAGATH 1987 Miroslav OKONSKI 1988 Lothar MATTHÄUS 1989 Klaus AUGENTHALER 1990 Andreas BREHME 1991 Thomas DOLL 1992 Guido BUCHWALD 1993 Andreas HERZOG 1994 Lothar MATTHÄUS 1995 Jürgen KLINSMANN 1996 Jürgen KLINSMANN 1997 Dariusz WOSZ 1998 Lothar MATTHÄUS 1999 Michael PREETZ 2000 Stefan EFFENBERG 2001 Ebbe SAND 2002 Oliver KAHN 2003 Fredi BOBIC 2004 Philipp LAHM 2005 Lukas PODOLSKI 2006 Jens LEHMANN 2007 DIEGO 2008 Michael BALLACK 2009 Mario GOMEZ
Very good STats and interesting facts It's not doubt the likes Beckenbauer, Rummenigge, Mathauss and Sammer all top of both Germany and european charts. It's a bit surprised that Klinsman got too much LOVE inside Germany
I will provide detailed information on how single players did in the German & European poll ("Ballon d'Or") a bit later. Here are two examples: Michael BALLACK 190065Germany000Europe Year00 Pos. Pts.000Pos. Pts.0 Team(s) 1997 --- --.--| --- -----1. FC Kaiserslautern 1998 --- --.--| --- -----1. FC Kaiserslautern 1999 --- --.--| --- -----1. FC Kaiserslautern/Germany 2000 --- --.--| --- -----Bayer Leverkusen/Germany 2001 11. 218 | --- -----Bayer Leverkusen/Germany 2002 21. 433 |-25.1 71 Bayer Leverkusen/Germany 2003 21. 263 |-20.12 2 Bayern München/Germany 2004 23. 238 | --- -----Bayern München/Germany 2005 21. 516 |-14.12 7 Bayern München/Germany 2006 25. 217 | --- -----Bayern München/Germany 2007 --- --.--| --- -----Chelsea FC/Germany 2008 22. 115 |-19.12 4 Chelsea FC/Germany 2009 11. 127 | --- -----Chelsea FC/Germany SUM.....1,386|0000084 Bernd SCHUSTER 190065Germany000Europe Year00 Pos. Pts.000Pos. Pts.0 Team(s) 1978 --- --.--| --- -----1. FC Köln 1979 --- --.--| --- -----1. FC Köln/Germany 1980 28.2 12 |-22.1 34 1. FC Köln/Germany 1981 24.2 22 |-23.1 39 1. FC Köln/Germany 1982 --- --.--|-10. 114 FC Barcelona/Germany 1983 26.2 24 |-11.1 10 FC Barcelona/Germany 1984 12.21 3 |-11.12 6 FC Barcelona/Germany 1985 18.21 4 |-23.2 46 FC Barcelona 1986 --- --.--| --- -----FC Barcelona 1987 --- --.--| --- -----FC Barcelona 1988 --- --.--| --- -----Real Madrid 1989 --- --.--| --- -----Real Madrid 1990 --- --.--| --- -----Atletico Madrid 1991 --- --.--| --- -----Atletico Madrid 1992 12. 216 | --- -----Atletico Madrid 1993 --- --.--| --- -----Atletico Madrid 1994 19. 215 | --- -----Bayer Leverkusen 1995 --- --.--| --- -----Bayer Leverkusen 1996 --- --.--| --- -----Bayer Leverkusen SUM..........90|0000139
That is a good news for me and I think there will be some points not match with ranking of kicker for sure. Example, Seeler was ranked by Kicker 7 world-class seasons but He was appeared in toip 3 ballon'Dor only once.
Yes but during that age, it was hard for an European audience to gain a full picture of the domestic performances of a player. Also, the Bundesliga only started in 1963 and was in its infancy throughout the 1960s. A player playing his trade in Serie A, Primera Division or the English First Division would naturally get more attention than someone like Seeler, who between 1954 and 1963 played in the Northern German Regional League (before the Bundesliga). This doesn't mean that his level wasn't outstanding at that time, as Kicker suggests.
Based on the highest ranked goalkeeper in the annual poll for "German Footballer of the Year", these are the players that won and can be considered "Goalkeeper of the Year" in Germany: 1961 Hans Tilkowski 1962 Wolfgang Fahrian 1963 Bernhard Wessel 1964 Hans Tilkowski 1965 Hans Tilkowski 1966 Hans Tilkowski 1967 Sepp Maier 1968 Horst Wolter 1969 Horst Wolter 1970 Sepp Maier 1971 Manfred Manglitz 1972 Sepp Maier 1973 Bernd Franke 1974 Sepp Maier 1975 Sepp Maier 1976 Sepp Maier 1977 Sepp Maier 1978 Sepp Maier 1979 Sepp Maier 1980 Harald Schumacher 1981 Harald Schumacher 1982 Harald Schumacher 1983 Dieter Burdenski 1984 Harald Schumacher 1985 Harald Schumacher 1986 Harald Schumacher 1987 Jean-Marie Pfaff 1988 Andreas Köpke 1989 Harald Schumacher 1990 Raimond Aumann 1991 Andreas Köpke 1992 Andreas Köpke 1993 Andreas Köpke 1994 Oliver Kahn 1995 Andreas Köpke 1996 Andreas Köpke 1997 Oliver Kahn 1998 Oliver Kahn 1999 Oliver Kahn 2000 Oliver Kahn 2001 Oliver Kahn 2002 Oliver Kahn 2003 Oliver Kahn 2004 Timo Hildebrand 2005 – 2006 Jens Lehmann 2007 Timo Hildebrand 2008 Oliver Kahn 2009 Robert Enke
If we based on these rankings, the Mannschaft wasn't pick their better option in these World Cups: * WC'70 - Horst Wolter was more consistent previous years. * WC'90 & 94 - no room for Illgner * WC'98 - Kahn was more consistent than Kopke, previous years. And for South Africa 2010 ¿¿??
Kahn is the best, but I was always a fan from Andreas Köpke since he joined 1.FC Nurnberg. But Kahn is number 1 not only in germany
1. Sepp Maier - 9 1. Oliver Kahn - 9 3. Toni Schumacher - 7 4. Andreas Köpke - 6 5. Hans Tilkowski - 4 6. Horst Wolter - 2 6. Timo Hildebrand - 2 8. Wolfgang Fahrian - 1 8. Bernhard Wessel - 1 8. Manfred Manglitz - 1 8. Bernd Franke - 1 8. Dieter Burdenski - 1 8. Jean-Marie Pfaff - 1 8. Raimond Aumann - 1 8. Jens Lehmann - 1 8. Robert Enke - 1 Good perspective. I'm surprised that Pfaff has been rewarded only once in spite his 6 years in Germany, especially because his legendary figure seem to indicate he had more prizes (maybe more in Belgium?).
Jean-Marie Pfaff was 4th highest-ranked keeper in 1983, 2nd in 1984, 2nd in 1986 and 1st in 1987. He was not ranked in 1985 because he missed most games due to an injury.
