Inter Dominates Gran Gala del Calcio as Dimarco Wins Player of the Year
On a night painted black and blue at the Gran Gala del Calcio, Inter didn’t just turn up for the photos. They owned the room.
The club walked away with the Serie A Club of the Year award, a formal seal on a dominant domestic campaign. On the individual front, the spotlight fell on a local boy turned leader of the flank: Federico Dimarco, voted Serie A Player of the Year by his fellow professionals.
For a wing-back to take the league’s top individual prize says plenty about his season. That it came via a players’ vote says even more.
Dimarco, from heartbreak to headline act
Dimarco spoke with the mix of pride and edge that has come to define his game. The trophy meant a lot; the journey behind it, even more.
“Receiving an award like this is unique,” he said, before quickly shifting the focus to what comes next. “Last year I set the assist record, and this season I want to improve even further.”
The turning point, in his own words, was not a triumph but a wound. He traced his breakthrough back to the defeat in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, a loss that still stings inside the club.
“My breakthrough? It all started after the lost Champions League final against PSG, which pushed us to give our absolute maximum,” he explained.
That pain has clearly hardened him. The result is a wing-back who now shapes games rather than just runs through them.
Inter’s imprint on Team of the Season
The Team of the Season underlined how deeply Inter’s fingerprints are pressed into this era of Serie A.
The selected eleven read like a who’s who of the campaign: Mile Svilar, Marco Palestra, Alessandro Bastoni, Manuel Akanji, Scott McTominay, Luka Modric, Hakan Calhanoglu, Nico Paz, Lautaro Martinez, and Donyell Malen.
Bastoni, Calhanoglu, Lautaro, Dimarco – Inter shirts everywhere you looked. A collective dominance reflected not just in trophies, but in the respect of peers across the league.
Lautaro, the captain and constant reference point in attack, also took home recognition from fellow professionals. His response mirrored the tone of the night: appreciative, but anchored in the group.
“It is always an honour to receive votes from colleagues,” he said. “We have a great group and had a fantastic season.”
The message was clear. Inter’s rise has not been built on one star turn, but on a core that keeps driving each other higher.
Contract tension beneath the celebration
Yet beneath the applause and the flashbulbs, a note of tension slipped into the evening.
Dimarco, at the peak of his powers and fresh from being named the best player in Serie A, revealed that contract talks with the club have not even started.
“Renewal? Unfortunately, we haven’t spoken about it,” he admitted. “I hoped it would happen after last season’s performance.”
It was a striking admission. On a night dedicated to celebrating what Inter have built, one of their most important pillars openly acknowledged uncertainty about his future terms.
No drama, no ultimatum – just a clear statement of disappointment from a player who has delivered and expected the club to move in step.
Eyes back on the pitch – and Napoli
Dimarco didn’t dwell on it. True to character, he quickly dragged the conversation back to the pitch and the next challenge.
“Now I want to remain focused on the match against Napoli,” he added. “We haven’t been able to win against them for too long.”
That line will resonate in the dressing room. Awards are polished, photos are taken, speeches are made. Then the season resumes, and Napoli await.
Inter leave the Gran Gala del Calcio as the team to beat and with the league’s standout player in their ranks. The only question now is how long it will take the club hierarchy to match that status with a contract that reflects Dimarco’s new standing – before another painful turning point shapes his story.
