Inter Milan achieved a clean sweep of the 2010 UEFA Club Football Awards in Monaco, the first time such a feat has been achieved since the awards’ inception in 1998.
Diego Milito, who scored both goals in Inter’s 2-0 UEFA Champions League final defeat of FC Bayern Munich in Madrid in May, secured the overall prize as UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, voted for, like all these accolades, by the coaches of the teams that reached the round of 16 last season. The 12 nominees for the four positional awards were all eligible for the main honour.
Milito was also named UEFA Club Attacker of the Year, emulating the double claimed by Ronaldo for Inter in 1998, after beating off fellow nominees Lionel Messi – who lifted both prizes in 2009 – and Wayne Rooney.
Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder took the plaudits as UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year, for which his Netherlands colleague Arjen Robben and Xavi Hernández were also nominated.
Full-back Maicon was voted the UEFA Club Defender of the Year, a category in which his Nerazzurri team-mate Lúcio was a nominee along with Gerard Piqué.
And Júlio César completed the Inter clean sweep, getting the nod as UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year ahead of Hugo Lloris and Víctor Valdés.
