ENGLAND PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2006
Owen Hargreaves' performance against Portugal help him become England's Player of 2006
Owen's honour
Tuesday, 30 January 2007.
Owen Hargreaves has completed a personal ‘double’ this week after being named as the official Nationwide England Player of the Year 2006, as voted for by fans on TheFA.com.
Hargreaves had already scooped the majority fans’ vote for England’s Player of the World Cup after a series of fine performances in Germany.
Displays of determination, tenacious tackling and boundless energy in the holding role of England’s midfield during their World Cup campaign, followed by another man-of-the-match outing in the August friendly against Greece, highlight how his commitment to the cause last year has been appreciated by the Three Lions support.
The Bayern Munich midfielder collected 29% of the votes cast over the last month to take him clear of Steven Gerrard in second place and claim his second honour of the year.
Hargreaves featured in eight of England’s 14 fixtures in 2006, but a broken leg in a Bundesliga visit to Arminia Bielefeld in September has kept the 26-year-old on the sidelines ever since.
However, Hargreaves was delighted when he was told about winning the award on Monday and is looking forward to returning to action soon.
“Any time you can receive the support of the fans is very special so thank you to everyone who voted for me,” he told TheFA.com. “I'm hoping that 2007 will also be a really good year too.
“I'm very nearly ready to start playing again and hopefully I'll be back playing for England again soon and I've got my eye on the big qualifiers in March.”
The England Player of the Year is now in its fourth year. 33 players pulled on the Three Lions shirt during 2006, but it will be Owen Hargreaves’ name that will join two-time winner Frank Lampard, 2005 and 2004, and David Beckham, 2003, on the award.