Pirlo voted Italian Serie A’s best

Italy national squad and Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo was named Italian Serie A’s player of 2012/13 at Monday’s Gran Gala del Calcio, organized by the Association of Italian Footballers (ACI), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) official website informs.  Pirlo, 34, was named Serie A’s best player for the second successive season. Juventus boss Antonio Conte was again named best coach. Forward Domenico Berardi was named Serie B young player of the season after helping US Sassuolo Calcio earn promotion; he has already scored 12 goals in 16 games in his maiden top-flight campaign.  Nicola Rizzoli, who oversaw the UEFA Champions League final last May, was voted as best referee.