WhoScored's 2011 Serie A Player and Young Player of the Year

In the penultimate edition of the WhoScored Player of the Calendar Year in each of Europe's top 5 leagues we analyse the top performers of Italy's Serie A since the beginning of 2011.

While there are a number of predictable inclusions in our top 10, there is also a selection of high-profile absentees. Perhaps unsurprisingly if you believe in stereotypes, 4 of the top 10 players according to WhoScored ratings are defenders, while there is also a few old timers still defying their age to perform at the top of their game.

While all players in the elder category had to have played at least 20 times this season, as has been customary in this latest feature, such restrictions only saw 4 players of the age of 21 or under make the grade. Therefore, to ascertain the top 5 Young Players of the Year, we have excluded all those to play less than 15 times this year. The Player of the Year leaderboard from 10 to 1 is as follows;

10. Rodrigo Palacio - 7.30 (FW / 29 / Genoa); 9. Ezequiel Lavezzi - 7.31 (AMC / 26 / Napoli); 8. Francesco Totti - 7.43 (FW / 35 / Roma); 7. Thiago Motta - 7.44 (DMC / 29 / Inter); 6. Lucio - 7.45 (DC / 33 / Inter); 5. Hugo Campagnaro - 7.47 (DC / 31 / Napoli); 4. Thiago Silva - 7.48 (DC / 27 / AC Milan)...

3. Maicon - 7.55 (DR / 30 / Inter)

Inter's flying right-back has long been considered as one of the best attacking full-backs in world football and over his 26 appearances since the turn of the year, having turned 30 in the process, has showed few signs of slowing down. In a season hampered by injuries early on, Maicon scored his first goal of the year against Juventus last month.

The game is the only one of 7 that the Brazilian has featured in that Inter have gone on to lose in recent weeks, and having their star full-back back to full fitness has certainly been beneficial to Claudio Ranieri. With 3 assists to his name in just 8 appearances from the back, Maicon reached double figures for the season in this regard with successive assists in Inter's two most recent victories.

The 30-year-old's ability to support attacks is shown by a leaderboard high of 3.15 key passes per game this year, while he has also attempted 2.85 dribbles per game. Despite this, Maicon has not deserted his defensive duties, making 1.62 tackles and 1.73 interceptions per game since the beginning of 2011. If Inter are to make a late serge for the title after an admittedly abysmal start, they will need their best players fit, and Maicon certainly rates as one of them.

2. Antonio Di Natale - 7.70 (FW / 34 / Udinese)

The words aging, evergreen and twilight are constantly coupled with the name Antonio Di Natale but as long as he continues to score at the rate he does, Udinese won't care one bit as to the 34 years that their skipper has now racked up. Since the start of the 2009/10 season, the forward has gone from strength to strength while many will have predicted a decline in an already decent goal record. However, over the past 3 seasons the Italian has played 84 times and scored 67 goals, which is nothing short of remarkable.

In this calendar year alone he has netted 27 times in 33 appearances, as well as picking up 8 assists to prove that he is not merely a goal poacher. Attempting 4.15 shots per game, Di Natale is a constant threat despite his age and also lays on 2.12 key passes per match.

The fact that he has finished each of the last two Serie A seasons as top scorer and ended 2010 by picking up the Italian Player of the Year proves that Di Natale still has so much to offer. Despite this, his opportunities in the national side have dried up and appear to have effectively ended, with the veteran possibly one of the greatest goal scorers in European football to have been overlooked on the international scene whilst in the best form of his career.

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 7.81 (FW / 30 / AC Milan)

Perhaps the only country in the world in which Zlatan Ibrahimovic tends not to divide the opinions of fans; Italy has become a second home to an undeniably unique talent. People became aware of what a special player the Swede may turn out to be whilst he was at Ajax, scoring some truly memorable goals in the Eredivisie, and the 2002/03 season remains the last in which Ibrahimovic's respective club has not won the league.

The extraordinary record is far beyond coincidence, with Ajax's triumph last year representing their first since Ibrahimovic left the club in 2004. He went on to join Juventus, winning back-to-back league titles, which were later revoked before a move to Inter. In 3 years at the club the Nerrazurri won the Serie A in each, with Ibrahimovic ending the 2008/09 season as golden boot winner with 25 in the league. A move to Barca followed and then ended fairly abruptly, before a move to AC Milan heralded a 6th Serie A title for the Swedish striker.

In 25 appearances since the start of 2011, Ibrahimovic has netted 16 times and set up a further 6 goals for teammates. While the former tally is impressive, coming from 4 shots per game, a superb average of 2.6 key passes per game could easily have warranted more assists and proves critics who label him as selfish or lazy are very much mistaken.

Young Player of the Year

As explained previously in this article, the appearance filter was adapted to a minimum of 15 games since the start of 2011, though one shouldn't underestimate the young talent in the league. Managers in the Serie A do tend to develop their younger talents a little longer before thrusting them into the first team, though this sets them up to continue to perform well into the latter years of their careers, as players such as Di Natale, Totti and Del Piero prove. The list of 5 to 1 is as follows;

5. Victor Ibarbo - 6.49 (FW / 21 / Cagliari); 4. Andrea Bertolacci - 6.52 (AMC / 20 / Lecce); 3. Ezequiel Muñoz - 6.57 (DC / 21 / Palermo); 2. Alexander Merkel - 6.66 (AMC / 19 / Genoa & AC Milan)...

1. Gastón Ramírez - 6.90 (AMC / 21 / Bologna)

At 21, Bologna's Gaston Ramirez is arguably the most important youngster to an Italian side having made more appearances (28) since the start of the year than any other player of 21 or under. The Uruguayan has been capped 8 times already for one of the year's most improved international sides, and it's easy to see why.

With 8 goals since the start of the year, Ramirez is already an adept finisher having attempted 2.04 shots per game. His trickery and confidence in possession has led to 4.04 attempted dribbles per game, though he has proven he has a decent end product as well, racking up 1.57 key passes per game on average.