De Rossi receives Bulgarelli Award from Capello

De Rossi received the prize from his former manager, Fabio Capello, at the team hotel in Verona - as they prepared to face Chievo on Friday evening.

De Rossi was named the winner of the prestigious prize at the Gran Gala di Calcio in Milan in December, but was not able to attend the ceremony - which is organised in conjunction with the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) - in person.

The award, named after the legendary former Italy international midfielder, is designed to recognise the most influential midfielder in European football. Previous winners include Xavi (Barcelona), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus) and Yaya Toure (Manchester City).

"It's a real honour for me to receive this prize," De Rossi said. "Not just because of who it is named after, but also because of the people that choose the recipient; people who have done so much in football and, in the case of coach Capello, people who have done so much personally for me."

Capello, who gave De Rossi his Roma debut, was asked to hand over the award.

"I'm particularly proud to give this prize to Daniele, because he made his debut under me and now he is the team's most important player," Capello said.

"Daniele is perhaps the player most reminiscent of Bulgarelli, for his personality on and off the pitch. The panel were unanimous, this was not a sentimental choice, but a recognition of his huge influence."

See more photos from the prize-giving, which saw an impromptu gathering of a number of winners of the 2000-01 Scudetto with Roma, in the gallery below.

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