Juve big Gala del Calcio winners

By Football Italia staff

Juventus and Andrea Pirlo were the big winners in the Gran Gala del Calcio, but Napoli boycotted the ceremony.

The votes for the best players of 2014 were provided by the AIC – the Italian Players’ Association.

Scudetto winners Juve were voted Team of the Year, while Gigi Buffon, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andrea Barzagli, Paul Pogba, Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez joined the Best XI.

Pirlo was singled out as Player of the Year thanks to his performances for the Bianconeri.

Gonzalo Higuain was voted best centre-forward, but Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis refused to let his players attend the ceremony.

Ciro Immobile won the award as best right-sided striker and Capocannoniere due to his time at Torino, though he joined Borussia Dortmund over the summer.

Matteo Darmian of Torino was best right-back, while ex-Roma defender Mehdi Benatia beat Giorgio Chiellini and Davide Astori to the best centre-back trophy.

Antonio Conte received the award as Coach of the Year ahead of Rudi Garcia at Roma and Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Montella.

AIC Best XI: Buffon; Darmian, Barzagli, Benatia, Asamoah; Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal; Immobile, Higuain, Tevez

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