Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori has been named in the Serie A Team of the Year for his performances in a Bologna shirt in 2023/24.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal shouts during the pre-season friendly match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais at the Emirates Stadium on August 11, 2024. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images
Italy’s Gran Gala del Calcio confirmed their Serie A Team of the Year picks this week, with Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori selected as part of the back four.
As with the PFA Awards in England, the Serie A team was selected by players competing in the division, and Calafiori received enough votes from his fellow professionals to make the side.
Calafiori wasn’t the only Premier League summer signing to make the team, and he’ll likely face off against the other one on Wednesday night, as Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee was also included. Both players represented Bologna in 2023/24.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Calafiori earned his spot in the Serie A Team of the Year by making 30 appearances for fifth-place Bologna, scoring two goals and assisting five.
The team were just one win away from a third-place finish, with Calafiori rested on the final day as they lost 2-0 to Genoa to drop two places. But it didn’t particularly matter, with the top five in Italy all guaranteed a Champions League spot by that stage.
That Champions League campaign hasn’t gone so well so far, with Bologna sitting 33rd with one point from five games. They’re not quite out of the running for the knockout stages yet, but they have a five-point gap to make up in three games, and the team five points ahead of them is Real Madrid.
Perhaps the side are feeling the effects of losing their Team of the Year stars, with Calafiori and Zirkzee the only Bologna players to feature in the XI.
Serie A Team of the Year in full
BOLOGNA, ITALY: Riccardo Calafiori of Bologna FC celebrates after the Serie A TIM match between Bologna FC and US Sassuolo at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on February 03, 2024. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images
Goalkeeper: Yann Sommer (Inter)
Defenders: Raoul Bellanova (Torino/Atalanta), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna/Arsenal), Federico Dimarco (Inter)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta/Juventus)
Forwards: Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna/Manchester United), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Marcus Thuram (Inter)
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