The award is a three-way initiative by the football magazine "Kicker", sports broadcaster DSF and the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH. Frings took 48 percent of all votes cast by fans, leaving him almost ten percent clear of Schalke captain Marcelo Bordon in second.

Praise from Eilts

Writing in "Kicker", Frings' former teammate at Bremen and current German U-21 coach Dieter Eilts said: "He has developed into an onfield leader, ever ready to shoulder responsibility. He showed how important he is to Werder when he returned to action at the end of the season. Good technique in possession is one of his defining strengths"...on top of which, "he almost always makes the right decision, sets the pace, knows exactly when to speed things up or slow the game down."

Great last game

Out for much of the season due to injury, Frings showed on his return that he has lost none of that ability. He saved perhaps his finest performance for Bremen's final game of the campaign, against Bayer Leverkusen. Standing in as captain for Frank Baumann, he mopped up at the back, drove the team forward in dynamic fashion, and set up the winner to boot.