Kroos named German footballer of the year
Berlin, Aug 5 : Real Madrid's Champions League winner Toni Kroos has been named German footballer of the year for the first time, Kicker magazine said on Sunday.
Also, Germany's Dzsenifer Marozsan of Olympique Lyon was voted as German female footballer of the year for the second straight year, reports Xinhua news agency.
Kroos, who won the Champions League with Real Madrid in May, stood out with 185 votes from sports journalists ahead of Freiburg striker Nils Petersen (39 votes) and Schalke's Brazilian defender Naldo (with 38).
Kroos, a rare bright spot in a German side that crashed out of the World Cup group stage as title holders, was second last year behind former Bayern Munich teammate Philipp Lahm.
"Footballer of the year -- that's a prize you do not get so easily -- and most importantly not everyone can win it," Kroos said in a statement.
Jupp Heynckes was voted coach of the year for leading Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title in May before retiring.
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Maharashtra polls: Nominations of 7,994 candidates across 288 assembly seats found valid
Mumbai (PTI): The nomination papers of 7,994 candidates filed across the 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra, where polling will take place on November 20, were found valid after scrutiny, election officials have said.
On the other hand, the nomination papers of 921 candidates were found invalid, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said in a statement on Thursday.
The process of filing nominations by candidates began on October 22 and ended on October 29.
The papers submitted by contestants were scrutinised on October 30, while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is November 4.
Polling for the 288-member state assembly will be held on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), are the main contenders for power though smaller parties and independents are also in the poll fray.
