Just Football: Serie A 2010-11 Team of the Season

With the 2010/11 Serie A season now complete and Internazionale Coppa Italia winners, time for the obligatory team of the season. Naturally, champions Milan are the most represented team in the main XI, with three players. The midfield area, however, contains choices from teams outside the top three in Italy this season.

Staying true to the general trend of Serie A this season, the formation used will be a 4-3-1-2.

Goalkeeper – Christian Abbiati (Milan)

Milan finished with the best defence in the league, thanks in no small part to Abbiati. He may not enter people’s thoughts when the subject of the best goalkeeper crops up, but he earned Milan vital points in crucial games this season. His save from a Thiago Motta header in the Milan derby at the start of April was world class and denied Inter the equaliser. An equally splendid effort in preventing Alessandro Diamanti’s curling effort from hitting the net effectively earned Milan two points in their 1-0 victory over Brescia.

His age has stopped a call-up to the Italy squad, but he is more than good enough for Milan right now.

Right-back – Christian Maggio (Napoli)

Not strictly a full-back for his club – Napoli’s 3-4-2-1 system means he plays as wing-back – but he has represented Italy at right-back this season. His form has been important to Napoli’s success this season, and there are not many teams in Italy who have a player that can cover the entire flank like Maggio.

His pace has ensured that he has offered an offensive threat from wide, reflected in the fact he has four goals and five assists for the campaign. It is this level of output that has seen Maggio enter the XI ahead of an equally impressive Mattia Cassani.

Centre-back – André Dias (Lazio)

The performances of the Brazilian have seemingly gone unnoticed this season, especially when compared to his partner in this XI. Alongside Giuseppe Biava, he has helped Lazio form a defence upon which much of their success this season has been built, but makes the team ahead of his colleague for the fact that he is the more complete defender.

While Biava has looked susceptible in the air, André Dias has not suffered those issues. He has played something of a sweeping role (as close as it can be in a two-man defence), covering while his partner actively hunts the ball.

Centre-back – Thiago Silva (Milan)

The Brazilian central defender that has been receiving all the attention this season is Milan’s No.33. It has been a breakout year for the 26-year-old, one where he should now be considered amongst the best defenders in the world. For all the talk of Zlatan Ibrahimović, it is Thiago Silva who has been the Rossoneri’s best player in 2010/11. Coach Massimiliano Allegri claimed towards the end of the season that he is “a player with no equals, one who plays at three levels higher than everyone else.”

His pace at the heart of Milan’s defence is crucial, best demonstrated during recovery. He gave an interview towards the end of the season where he stated he felt more comfortable without Alessandro Nesta alongside him, and it is testament to his marked improvement that his performances have acted as hard evidence to his words.

Left-back – Federico Balzaretti (Palermo)

While Christian Maggio had some decent competition in the form of Cassani and Ignazio Abate for his full-back role, Balzaretti has had precious little for his left-back spot. In fairness, this is primarily due to the exceptional season he has experienced – seven assists and a couple of caps for Italy – although real competition is limited.

Palermo’s defence has been one of the worst in Italy this year, but that has rarely been the fault of Balzaretti (or Cassani on the opposite flank). He has provided genuine width with attacking potency, one of the few full-backs in Italy capable of doing so.

Central midfield – Gökhan Inler (Udinese)

Udinese may have struggled during the early part of the campaign, but Inler was not one of those players caught up in that struggle for form. The Swiss midfield man seems to be one of those linked with a move to a bigger team each and every summer, only for said move to not materialise.

He has demonstrated once again why so many clubs are after his services. Generally playing in the middle of a three-man midfield in Francesco Guidolin’s preferred 3-5-2, he has had more freedom to showcase his dynamism and prove he is much more than the nominal holding midfielder that he is meant to be in Udinese’s system, and it shows in his numbers for the season – his best ever since moving to Friuli.

Central midfield – Felipe Melo (Juventus)

By their exceedingly high standards, Juventus have struggled for long periods, as their final league position suggests. Felipe Melo, however, has turned out to be incredibly important to the Bianconeri’s cause.

He is one of those players whose influence is only felt when he is not in the team. Of the nine games he has missed in Serie A, Juventus have only won twice, and they were two home games against Bari and Brescia (the two worst sides in the division). His shielding of the defence has been excellent – not an easy task considering some of the below-par displays from certain Juventus defenders, particularly at right-back – and is useful in possession of the ball too. So useful, in fact, that he has brought into sharp focus the inadequacies of Momo Sissoko when he is deployed in the Brazilian’s place.

Central midfield – Marco Parolo (Cesena)

He has arguably been the best Italian midfielder in 2010/11. Of course, that has been helped by Daniele De Rossi’s awful form and Andrea Pirlo’s injury troubles, but that should not detract from what has been a very good season for the 26-year-old, which has seen him win his first Italy cap.

You do not see many Italian midfielders with his characteristics – box-to-box types who will move up and down the pitch, making a difference in both penalty areas and, importantly, scoring goals. Most are either destroyers like Daniele De Rossi, or ball-players like Alberto Aquilani.

To score five goals from a pure midfield position in a struggling, newly-promoted team is a fantastic effort. Massimo Ficcadenti’s expansive and forward-thinking 4-3-3 system has aided Parolo inasmuch as he is able to play his natural game, but he still had to make the most of it. Almost certain to move to a better team in the summer.

Trequartista – Hernanes (Lazio)

A close-run contest with Marek Hamšik (even their season stats are very similar), Hernanes wins out due to the greater impact he has had on his team compared to that of the Slovakian. Suffered a dip in form after the Christmas break which saw him benched for one or two games, but in general Lazio have not been the same side without their Brazilian.

His 11 goals for the season not only meant he was the Biancoceleste’s top scorer, but saw him equal Pavel Nedvěd’s record for number of goals scored by a Lazio midfielder in a single season.

Forward – Zlatan Ibrahimović (Milan)

If it was not for the Swede’s early season form, he would not have made the team of the season. He looked visibly fatigued after Christmas, and his performances dipped dramatically as a result – after January, he had more (stupid) red cards than Serie A goals, and his one strike (against Napoli) was from the penalty spot.

Nevertheless, his form up until that point was vitally important to Milan winning the Scudetto. His goals were directly responsible for 11 of the 82 points gained, more than any other player in the Milan squad, and that does not include the numerous assists for his teammates, almost double anyone else.

Forward – Edinson Cavani (Napoli)

It is always difficult to have a team of the season without the league’s top scorer (Antonio Di Natale is on the bench), but Cavani’s season and impact on Napoli mean he cannot be left out. He finished with 26 Serie A goals, and had he not been banned for the final two games of the season, he may well have beaten Di Natale to the Capocannoniere crown.

The fee Napoli agreed to pay for the Uruguayan at the start of the season appeared to some as a bit steep considering he had never managed more than 15 league goals in a given season (though in his defence had spent some time as a winger at Palermo) before now. However, he has easily justified the expense with an outstanding goalscoring season. His exploits were responsible for 19 of Napoli’s 70 points, and for nearly half of the 59 goals scored.

He has recently signed a one year extension to his contract (with an increase in wages to €2.5m per year), meaning he should be unleashed on the Champions League in 2011/12.

Substitutes

Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli)

One of a number of Napoli players to make the bench. His great form has prompted questions surrounding the lack of a call-up to the Italy squad. Unfortunately his age is against him when it comes to international recognition.

Paolo Cannavaro (Napoli)

Another whose form has pushed him into the discourse for international inclusion. The captain around which Napoli’s strong defence has been built, that defence kept 17 clean sheets during 2010/11, bettered only by champions Milan (20).

Stefano Mauri (Lazio)

Debate rages over his worth at international level, but he has enjoyed a very productive season at club level. With much of the attention on Hernanes, Mauri’s nine assists (more than the Brazilian) and six goals were largely ignored. Nevertheless, they were important in keeping the club in the hunt for the last Champions League spot right until the last day of the season.

Marek Hamšik (Napoli)

The Slovakian has been consistently brilliant for Napoli across a number of seasons, and is unlucky to only make the bench. He has reached double figures for Serie A strikes yet again, important for a team with not many alternative sources of goals to Cavani.

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)

It speaks volumes for the outstanding season Cavani has experienced that the Serie A’s top scorer is a substitute. His 28 goals mean he is the Capocannoniere for the second successive season – the first player to accomplish that feat since Beppe Signori in 1993/94. His pace and ability to get in behind defenders are vital for a team that like to keep the ball on the floor.

(photo credit: OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images via rahmakaka on Flickr)

Best XI, Edinson Cavani, Felipe Melo, Hernanes, Italian Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimovic