Man Utd flop and new Arsenal signing named in Team of the Year
Manchester United flop Joshua Zirkzee and new Arsenal signing Riccardo Calafiori were both named in the Serie A Team of the Year for 2024.
The Gran Gala del Calcio, which is the Italian equivalent of England’s PFA Awards, was held on Monday evening in Milan to commemorate the best of Serie A from the past year.
Lautaro Martinez was named as Player of the Year and his Inter manager Simone Inzaghi was Coach of the Year.
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And the Top XI of the Year featured two Premier League summer signings.
Man Utd flop Joshua Zirkzee was selected in attack thanks to his performances with Bologna last season.
Zirkzee led Bologna to a shock qualification into this season’s Champions League under manager Thiago Motta.
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Zirkzee delivered 12 goals and seven assists in all competitions as Bologna finished fifth in Serie A.
He was the key man for a Bologna team who performed well above their weight under Motta to qualify for the Champions League.
Zirkzee joined Man Utd this past summer in a €42.5 million move on the back of his performances with Bologna.
He has struggled at United so far, with just three goals this season.
Riccardo Calafiori in Team of the Year
Zirkzee’s former Bologna teammate Calafiori, now at Arsenal, was also chosen in the defence of the best XI.
Calafiori was a massive breakout star in Serie A last season.
Having grown up as a left-back at Roma, Bologna Motta converted Calafiori into a left-sided centre back.
Physically impressive, aggressive and excellent in the air, Calafiori was a colossus both defensively and in bringing the ball out and joining in the play further up the pitch.
Like Zirkzee, he played a key role in Bologna qualifying for the Champions League.
He also starred at Euro 2024 with Italy, with a memorable run and assist for Mattia Zaccagni’s last-gasp equaliser against Croatia in the group stage.
Serie A Team of the Year: Yann Sommer (Inter); Raoul Bellanova (Torino/Atalanta), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna/Arsenal), Federico Dimarco (Inter); Nicolo Barella (Inter), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta/Juventus); Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna/Manchester United), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Marcus Thuram (Inter)
