Turin: Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday was named as Juventus’ ‘Most Valuable Player of the Year’.
Ronaldo had ended the 2019-20 season with 37 goals, and as a result, he broke the record for registering the most goals in a single season. This record had stood for 80 years.
The record had been held for more than 80 years by club legend Felice Borel, who in 1933-34 scored 36 across Serie A and the defunct Mitropa Cup.
The Portuguese striker had broken this record in the side’s Champions League round-of-16 second-leg match against Lyon.
“It was a very long season, with a championship that lasted almost 11 months. An unexpected stop halted things, but when things started up again we won… again. Among all these ingredients, there is one element that has been a constant: Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals,” Juventus said in an official statement.
Ronaldo had finished the 2019-20 Serie A season with 31 goals to his kitty.
Juventus on Saturday had appointed Andrea Pirlo as the new head coach of the side. This came hours after the sacking of Maurizio Sarri as the coach. He was ousted as the coach after Juventus was knocked out of the Champions League.
The 41-year-old Pirlo, who has now signed a two-year contract with the club, had a legendary career as a player that led him to win everything, from the Champions League to the World Cup in 2006.
In his four years at the centre of the Juventus midfield, Pirlo won as many league titles, a Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups.
“From today he will be the coach for people of Juventus, as the club has decided to entrust him with the technical leadership of the First Team, after having already selected him for Juventus Under 23,” Juventus had said in an official statement.
Under Sarri, Juventus were crowned champions of Italy for a ninth successive season after beating Sampdoria 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium on July 26. But the side picked up only two victories from their final eight matches.
Juventus finished the 2019-20 Serie A season with 83 points and this is the lowest number of points the side registered in the last decade.
The side had also conceded more goals (43) than in any of their previous eight title successes.
Juventus also lost both the Italian Super Cup and Coppa Italia finals under Sarri.