MILAN: Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo claimed Serie A’s player of the year award for the third consecutive year during a gala event on Monday organised by the Association of Italian Footballers.

The 35-year-old playmaker celebrated alongside former Juve handler Antonio Conte, who picked up the best coach of the year award after leading the Bianconeri to their third consecutive Serie A title last season before quitting to become Italy’s national team coach.

Pirlo was one of seven Juventus players in the team of the year, including fellow veteran Gianluigi Buffon.

The duo were joined in the top 11 by team-mates Kwadwo Asamoah, Andrea Barzagli, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez, as well as Torino duo Ciro Immobile and Matteo Darmian, Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain and AS Roma’s Mehdi Benatia.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014