Juventus midfielder, Andrea Pirlo has claimed a third consecutive Serie A player of the year award during a gala event organised by the Association of Italian Footballers.
The veteran midfielder, 36, was also one of several Juventus players to be named among the Serie A team of the year.
Pirlo’s former manager Antonio Conte picked up the best coach of the year award after leading the Bianconeri to their third consecutive Scudeto last season before resigning to take over from Cesare Prandelli as Italy’s national team coach.
“It’s always a pleasure to win this award,” said Pirlo, who joined the Turin outfit in summer 2011 after ten years at AC Milan.
Juventus won their 30th Serie A title last season with an unprecedented 102 points and reached the semi-finals of the Uefa Europa League.
The playmaker was sidelined for Juve’s opening five matches of the current campaign, but returned in time for a 3-2 win over title challengers Roma on his 100th appearance for ‘La Vecchia Signora’.
He scored his 26th goal from a free-kick in the Serie A on the day of the champions’ 117th anniversary in a 2-0 win over Empoli, leaving him two short of all-time record holder, Sinisa Mihajlovic.
He marked his 100th Champions League appearance with another trademark free-kick in a 3-2 win over Group A rivals Olympiakos three days later- his first goal in the competition with Juventus.
Pirlo has scored only twice in seven games for the Italian champions so far having missed the first six weeks of the season due to injury.
