Player of the Month awards: April 2013

After a week of voting and thousands of votes, Sportskeeda’s readers have decided who their March Players of the Month are. Here are the winners:

Goalkeeper of the Month: Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich and Germany

Bayern played nine games in a congested April, but Neuer didn’t play all of them. He didn’t need to because the Bavarians had wrapped up the league title with a 1-0 win away at Eintracht Frankfurt: a game Neuer featured in. He was imperious in goal, showcasing his best in the Champions League as he kept clean sheets against Juventus both on the road and at home.

But the performances he will feel most proud of are the ones against Barcelona. If shutting out the Blaugrana at home wasn’t a testament to his skill, he repeated the feat in Spain, keeping David Villa and Alexis Sanchez at bay as his team found the back of the net three times in Catalonia.

With Tom Starke getting a run-out for the remaining games of the Bundesliga, Neuer will look to be in top form as his side prepare to contest the Champions League trophy later this month.

With over 53% of the votes, Manuel Neuer is our Goalkeeper of the Month.

Defender of the Month: Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal and France

The Gunner rearguard has been revitalised since the return of Laurent Koscielny, and with results in tow, his inclusion has repaid Arsenal in plenty. The Frenchman started his side’s 2-1 win against West Bromwich Albion, holding the visitor’s three-man rearguard after Per Mertesacker had been sent off for conceding a penalty. He then joined forces with Thomas Vermaelen to earn his team another win in a come from behind 3-1 win against Norwich.

He joined the returning Mertesacker in keeping out Everton at the Emirates and then provided the assist for the German’s winner at Fulham in a fortunate win for his team. Koscielny ended the month by helping Arsenal deny Champions Manchester United a win in London as the race for the coveted Champions League spots hots up.

With over 67% of the votes, Laurent Koscielny is undoubtedly our Defender of the Month.

Midfielder of the Month: Gareth Bale, Tottenham and Wales

The Welshman is on a roll this season for Spurs, and he was in imperious form in April, as Spurs chased the Champions League spots. The Welsh wizard has been inspiring Tottenham to victories single-handedly. He played a massive role in the 3-1 victory over Manchester City, assisting for Dempsey’s goal and scoring one of his own, all while appearing to be less than fully fit.

He was sorely missed in the clash against Everton, and after his goal against Swansea early in the month, he became the first Spurs player to score more than 12 away goals in a Premier League season. Breaking records is something that he is well accustomed to by now, and we are more than likely to see him smash more records to smithereens in the coming seasons.

Having won the PFA Player of the Year award also this past month, and with 43% of the total votes, Gareth Bale is our Midfielder of the Month.

Striker of the Month: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid and Portugal

The number of goals scored by the unstoppable Cristiano Ronaldo in April were equivalent to the number of games he played – 7. After a slow start to the season, Ronaldo has really come to the party for Real Madrid, helping them put distance between themselves and local rivals Atletico in the race for the runners-up spot in La Liga. His tally in the Spanish league is second only to that of Lionel Messi, who had a relatively quiet April and will not feature in the list of nominees for the first time in a while. No such problems for Ronaldo though, as excellent shows, particularly against Galatasaray and Athletic Bilbao, made him one of the favourites to win this poll.

No surprise thus, that with over 57% of the votes, Cristiano Ronaldo lands the honours for Striker of the Month.