CANNAVARO DOMINATES 2006 OSCARS

Fabio Cannavaro was the big winner at the Oscar del Calcio ceremony as he was named the Italian Player of the Year.

The Italy captain was voted as the Best Overall Player of 2006 by members of the AIC – the Italian Players’ Association – in Milan this evening.

Cannavaro also scooped the Best Italian and Best Defender Oscars tonight.

The Real Madrid man, who left Juventus following the Calciopoli probe, has enjoyed a quite remarkable last 12 months.

He won the title with Juve, before it was revoked, and then inspired the Azzurri to an unforgettable World Cup triumph.

The veteran was also voted as the European Footballer of the Year by France Football and he lifted the FIFA World Player accolade in December.

Three of Cannavaro’s World Cup colleagues were also rewarded for their efforts on Monday in the shape of Daniele De Rossi, Gigi Buffon and Luca Toni.

Roma’s De Rossi won the Young Player category, Juve No 1 Buffon the goalkeeping award and Toni was rewarded for his scoring prowess.

In the other categories, Milan’s Kaka and David Suazo of Cagliari were joint winners in the Best Foreigner section.

Roma’s Luciano Spalletti won the most votes as top boss, while World Cup official Roberto Rosetti triumphed as the leading referee.

Best Overall Player: Fabio Cannavaro
Best Italian: Fabio Cannavaro
Best Foreigner: Kaka and David Suazo
Best Young Player: Daniele De Rossi
Best Goalkeeper: Gigi Buffon
Best Defender: Fabio Cannavaro
Best Coach: Luciano Spalletti
Best Referee: Roberto Rosetti
Top Scorer: Luca Toni
Best Goal: Francesco Totti [Roma versus Sampdoria]
Most Loved Player: Gigi Buffon [44,836 votes out of 166,300]