Thibaut Courtois has been named Belgian Sportsman of the Year
The Chelsea goalkeeper is the first footballer ever to win the award, the most prestigious accolade in Belgian sport, which has been running since 1967.
Since returning to Chelsea from his loan with Atletico Madrid, Courtois, 22, has made 18 appearances for the Blues. He was also his country's first-choice goalkeeper at their first World Cup since 2002, while helping Atleti to the La Liga title and the Champions League final last term.
Courtois said: 'It's an honour to be the first footballer to win this award. But you have to have some luck too. If there'd been a cyclist who had won two classical races, I think I wouldn't have won the trophy.
'But I'm happy, I'm proud. Even more for my family, it's not always easy for them - I'm often away from home, disappointed after a loss or a difficult training session.
'I want to thank them, and all of my team-mates, managers and staff who helped me to achieve this. You never get used to winning prizes, but this season I want to achieve as much as possible with Chelsea. In the first place I want to win the Premier League.'
Courtois' Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard finished fifth in the voting, and as the second footballer in the top five, while former Blue Kevin De Bruyne was in eighth.
http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/12/courtois-takes-top-belgian-honour.html
