Republic of Ireland soccer manager Giovanni Trapattoni has won the Philips Sports Manager of the Year award.
The 72 year old follows Mick McCarthy in 2001 and Jack Charlton before him in taking this prestigious award after qualifying for a major international tournament.  Brian Kerr also won recognition in the late 1990’s for his work at underage level.
The strength of Irish sport in 2011 was indicated by the list of contenders which included Pat Gilroy after leading Dublin to their first All Ireland since 1995 and Joe Schmidt having led Leinster to the Heineken Cup.
This is the 30th year of Philips’ support for the event.