MILAN, December 13, 2017 – It was a night of glamour, glory and mixed feelings on Tuesday as Italy’s famous La Gazzetta dello Sport organized its annual Awards honoring the best sporting feats of the year.
The stars of the night were Francesco Totti who was honored with the Legend 2017 Award, national team keeper Gianluigi Buffon was named Male Athlete of the Year and reveled how he turned from striker to keeper at the age of 13. A rising star in the international ski slopes, Sofia Goggia was named Female Athlete of the year. Spain’s Alberto Contador was also named Legend of 2017, for his years of success in the Italian Giro race.
The evening ended with the another Legend 2017 award, this time awarded to a foreign athlete, but one Italians had very much adopted as their own – Spanish cycling great Alberto Contador, one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Vuelta a España three times (2008, 2012, 2014) and the local Gazzetta pride Giro d’Italia twice, in 2008 and in 2015.
(L-R) The Gazzetta Awards stars of the night: Alberto Contador, Sofia Goggia, Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Totti.
