Juve's Conte named Italian coach of year

Antonio Conte of Juventus has been voted coach of the 2011/12 Serie A season by his Italian peers after leading the Turin side undefeated to the title.

"Thank you for this coveted prize for those in our profession. I thank everyone who voted for me and those who didn't," Conte told a ceremony at Italy's national training centre at Coverciano on Monday.

"It's a prize that pushes me to always try to improve."

His 'golden bench' award comes despite a 10-month ban handed down in August for his failure to report match-fixing at previous club Siena. That suspension was reduced to four months on appeal and he returned to the dugout in December.

Juve top Serie A again this season by four points after 25 games.

Zdenek Zeman, who led modest Pescara to promotion to the top flight last term with his attacking brand of soccer before being sacked as Roma boss this month, won the Serie B prize.

Photograph: Claudio Villa/Getty Images