Germany's footballer of the year
July 26, 2015
Germany's "Kicker" magazine, which organizes the poll of sports journalists, reported that De Bruyne won this year's title easily after receiving 367 of the 814 votes.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben, of the Netherlands came in second with 94 votes. Last year's winner, Bayern and German national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was third place with 67 votes.
Scoring 10 goals with 21 assists, the 24-year-old De Bruyne played a vital role in helping Wolfsburg climb to second place in the Bundesliga and win the German Cup.
"To be voted best player in another country is something," De Bruyne told "Kicker" in a interview to be published on Monday. "It's recognition for my season."
The other foreign players to win the prize were Ailton, Franck Ribery, Grafite and Robben.
Return to England?
De Bruyne signed for English Premier League champions Chelsea in 2012, but was swiftly loaned out to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.
The prodigious Belgian enjoyed a fine season in Germany under then Werder coach Thomas Schaaf, scoring 10 goals, assisting 10 and appearing in every match.
His return to London marked a frustrating point in his career. Despite creating a goal in the first home game of the season, he was frozen out by Jose Mourinho who questioned the midfielder's work ethic.
But De Bruyne, to this day, denies his attitude was out-of-sync with Mourinho's demands. In January 2014, he signed a five-year-deal with Wolfsburg who paid around 18 million euros to secure his services.
A solid first six months was backed up by an outstanding 2014-15 season where the attacking-midfielder led from the front as a traditional 'No.10' behind Bas Dost, the main striker.
De Bruyne's speed, quick thinking and great technique has attracted interest from England, where this week Manchester City were reportedly set to smash the British record transfer fee for him.
The English side, owned by the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, could shell out around 70 million euros - or £50 million - to sign the midfielder. But de Bruyne has four years left on his contract, and the Wolves are in no hurry to sell him on.
"We have no offer from Manchester City," said coach Dieter Hecking, responding to suggestions the player's agent had travelled to meet City representatives. "We have no offer from anybody."
Boss of the year
Meanwhile, 50-year-old Hecking was voted coach of the year narrowly ahead of Augsburg's Markus Weinzierl, with Borussia Mönchengladbach's Lucien Favre taking third place.
Since joining from Nuremburg, Hecking has turned Wolfsburg's fortunes around. A coach renowned for a defensive approach, he has managed a highly-talented group of players at the Volkswagen Arena to great effect.
The Wolves scored 72 goals last season with Hecking bringing out the best in De Bruyne and the likes of Croatian Ivan Perisic, who left Borussia Dortmund following a spat with Jürgen Klopp.
Hecking's Wolfsburg won the German Cup and finished second last season in the Bundesliga, 10 points behind champions Bayern Munich, securing a return to the Champions League.
tj/mkg/rd (AP, AFP)