The inaugural award, given at the "Oscar del Calcio AIC" ceremony, was presented after the conclusion of the 1996–97 Serie A season to Marcello Lippi who had led Juventus to the title, winning Serie A by two points ahead of Parma. Juventus also won the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final that year, against Ajax. Lippi retained the Coach of the Year award the following season, when Juventus secured the domestic title again, yet lost the Champions League Final to "perennial German underdogs" Borussia Dortmund. Milan, led by Alberto Zaccheroni, won the league in the 1998–99 season, and he became the second individual recipient of the Coach of the Year award. Sweden's Sven-Göran Eriksson managed Lazio to their first league title since 1974 when they topped the league in the 1999–2000 season. Further success in both the UEFA Super Cup and the Coppa Italia ensured that Eriksson was named the first non-Italian Serie A Coach of the Year.