Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni has been named in the Italian Footballers’ Association’s (AIC) top eleven for the year, and he is very pleased with the honour.

Speaking while accepting his award, as reported by FCInterNews, the 22-year-old reflected on all that he’s accomplished in the past year and expressed his gratitude at the recognition.

Despite his young age, Bastoni has already accomplished a lot in football, with the former Atalanta man having cemented himself as a key player in the Nerazzurri’s starting eleven and won the Scudetto last season.

This time around, he remains an important player for Inter as they fight for a second consecutive Serie A title and reached the Champions League knockout rounds, and in between he was part of the Italy side that won the Euros.

Bastoni can hopefully look forward to a long and decorated career for which the past year has just been the beginning and a sign of things to come.

“This is the prize for a great season culminating in a league title and victory at the Euros,” he said. “I am happy to have made it into the Top XI, and I’m hoping it will just be the first of a long series.”

“It feels very nice when your colleagues recognize you for what you’ve done,” he added. “I’m very happy and I hope this is not the only one.”