Heynckes, Ibrahimovic honoured at FIFA awards

Jupp Heynckes received the prestigious FIFA Coach of the Year award after guiding Bayern Munich to an unprecedented treble in 2013.

The 68-year-old led his side to domestic glory by lifting the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles, as well as conquering Europe with a 2-1 triumph over Borussia Dortmund to lift the UEFA Champions League in May.

Heynckes, who departed the Allianz Arena at the end of the season, fended off competition from Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp and former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson at the FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Silvia Neid collected the Women’s Coach of the Year, after guiding Germany to the UEFA Women’s Championship in a 1-0 triumph over Norway in July.

Elsewhere, Paris-Saint Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic took home the Puskas Award presented to the player from the men’s or women’s game to score the best goal of the year.

The 32-year-old collected the trophy for his audacious overhead kick for Sweden in a 4-2 friendly victory over England in November 2012, with Ibrahimovic scoring all four goals in the win.

Benfica’s Nemanja Matic and Barcelona’s Neymar were also on the three-man shortlist, the former for a stunning volley in Benfica’s 2-2 Primeira Liga draw with Porto, while Neymar was recognised for a fierce volley in Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Japan in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The FIFPro XI, consisting of the 11 best players of the year, had a strong contingent of Barcelona and Bayern Munich players, with the former having four players, while the latter had three.

Spanish champions Barcelona had Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Andres Iniesta and Xavi included, while Franck Ribery, Manuel Neuer and Philipp Lahm represented Bayern.

Incredibly it was the first time the FIFPro XI had representation from the Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

FIFPro XI in full: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona).