ROME: Paulo Dybala (pix) of champions Juventus has been named the best footballer of the 2019-20 Serie A season.
The Lega Serie A on Tuesday also issued a list of five players, each of whom was awarded best player in his individual position. But Dybala was named MVP - the league's most valuable player.
“It has been an anomalous season, with a condensed finale,” Lega director general Luigi De Siervo said of the league, which finished on Sunday.
Twelve rounds of matches had to be crammed into six weeks because of a three-and-a-half-month pause due to the coronavirus crisis.
“But these footballers managed to display their talent in all the games, highlighting our competition with great performances,” De Siervo said.
Dybala, one of 23 top-flight footballers in Italy to contract coronavirus, scored 11 goals and provided seven assists for the Bianconeri. He has helped them win the last five in a record run of nine successive titles.
The Argentinian forward's Polish team-mate, Wojciech Szczesny, was recognized as best goalkeeper.
Lazio striker Ciro Immobile was chosen as best striker, having equalled Gonzalo Higuain’s record of 36 league goals while winning the European Golden Shoe as the continent’s top scorer.
Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski, a 20-year-old due to move from Parma to Juventus, was named most-promising young footballer.
Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij, of Inter Milan, and Atalanta midfielder Alejandro Gomez, from Argentina, were named the league's best in their respective positions. – dpa
