The Italian was in competition with Dublin football manager Pat Gilroy, who led the capital side to their first All-Ireland title in 16 years, Brian Cody, who lifted the Liam McCarthy trophy with Kilkenny, and Leinster's Heineken Cup-winning coach Joe Schmidt.
But the award, which was announced at a ceremony in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon, was given to the 72-year-old in recognition of his achievement of guiding the Republic to second place in Group B and the subsequent 5-1 aggregate win over Estonia in the play-offs.
The last time the award went to an international football manager was in 2001 when Mick McCarthy brought Ireland to the 2002 World Cup finals.
The likable Italian has guided lowly Ireland to two play-off's in his tenure, cruelly losing out to France before he steered Ireland to a 5-1 over Estonia in the Euro play-offs and is a deserved winner of the award.
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