Hakan Calhanoglu wins Serie A’s best midfielder award

Turkish-origin, international footballer Hakan Calhanoglu, who plays for Inter Milan, has been named the best midfielder of the Serie A season, bringing pride to the country.

According to the announcement on Serie A’s official website, the 30-year-old player, who won the league title with the Inter Milan club this season, was chosen as the best midfielder.

This season, Calhanoglu scored 13 goals and provided 3 assists in 31 league appearances.

Michele Di Gregorio from Monza was the best goalkeeper, Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan was the best defender, and Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus was the best forward. Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez won Master Valuable Player (MVP) of the year.

The best coach award went to Simone Inzaghi, who guided Inter Milan to the championship.

The Turkish Football Federation congratulated Hakan Calhanoglu in a post on its social media account.

The experienced midfielder signed a contract with Inter Milan in July 2023.

Champions Inter Milan dominated the Serie A end-of-season awards on Friday with Simone Inzaghi voted coach of the year and Lautaro Martinez player of the year.

Inzaghi, 48, was chosen by a panel of sports publication directors, said the league.

“It could only be Simone Inzaghi,” Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo said in a statement.

“Inter has both the best attack and best defense and also went on a 28-game unbeaten run,” said the statement, adding that Inzhagi “has had his players continuously play an exciting brand of football while maintaining compactness and solidity.”

Argentina forward Martinez became a team captain at the start of the season and was top scorer in Serie A with 24 goals in 33 games.

“Lautaro Martinez’s season has been extraordinary in performance and leadership,” said De Siervo.

Inter Milan changed ownership on Wednesday, with U.S. fund Oaktree taking over from Chinese group Suning, which could not repay a debt worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Oaktree said on Friday that it had taken control of 99.6% of the club’s capital.

Inter’s fans also discovered on Friday that season ticket prices for matches at the San Siro next season would rise between 12% and 23% – a decision made before Oaktree’s takeover.