Serie A's Top 5 Attacking Full-Backs for 2010/11

Continuing our series of articles on attacking full-backs, we turn our attentions to Serie A. Highlighting the top five for key passes and successful dribbles combined, we look at the performances of Ignazio Abate and Maicon at the two Milan clubs as they finished first and second in Serie A respectively.

We show the areas where Mauricio Isla outshone his compatriot Alexis Sanchez in an Udinese shirt last season and illustrate the merits of new Bayern Munich man Rafinha at Genoa last term. Fedrico Balzaretti of Palermo also makes it into our top five, with his crucial left-back role for the eighth-placed side last season.

Maicon - Combined Total 3.2 Key Passes & Successful Dribbles per game

Only Wesley Sneijder made more key passes for Inter than Maicon last season. The Dutchman managed 2.9 compared to Maicon’s 2.1, with the right-back a more prominent creative force than the likes of Samuel Eto’o. The best of our full-backs for key passes, Maicon also picked up a total of 8 assists, better than Sneijder’s 5 and second only to Eto’o on 9 for Inter.

Maicon also excelled when it came to successful dribbles, with 1.1 per game the equal of playmaker Sneijder here, threatening up and down the right flank time and again. His attacking play is highlighted by the goal threat he cause - with 1.2 shots per game, he offers the same ratio as many forwards- Inter’s Goran Pandev managed 1.1 per game, for example, though from his 38 games, the Brazilian found the net on just 1 occasion.

Maicon was also Inter’s main man for successful crosses- he made 1.8 per game, with Sneijder next best on 1.2. In spite of his plentiful delivery, he still had a fantastic 84% pass accuracy and with 55.6 passes per game, made more than any of our featured full-backs.

In comparison to the other members of Inter’s back-four and our other full-backs, Maicon’s defensive contribution is not quite as impressive. Just 1.6 tackles and 1.8 interceptions is indicative of a perceived lack of solidity at the back for Inter, though a 60% aerial duel success shows his capabilities in the air. He picked up 2 Man of the Match awards on his way to an average of 7.42 in WhoScored.com’s ratings, third best for Inter behind Eto’o and Lucio.

Mauricio Isla - Combined Total 2.7 Key Passes & Successful Dribbles per game

The Chilean played mainly as a wing-back in Udinese’s 3-5-2, helping his side to a fourth-placed finish. Isla may have been overshadowed by the performances of compatriot Alexis Sanchez last term but it’s intriguing to note that he made more key passes, with 1.9 to 1.6. Isla also picked up more assists than Sanchez, with 7 to 6, matching Antonio Di Natale as his side’s top creator.

Keen to get forward as much as possible, Isla is second only to Maicon here for shots, averaging 0.8, and resultantly bagged 2 goals in his 34 appearances. His 0.6 successful dribbles per game, while not outstanding, was bettered by just four other Udinese players, and with 1 successful cross per game, he offered the second best delivery from out wide for his side.

At the back, Isla’s 2.2 tackles see him joint-second of our featured five, and only centre-half Mehdi Benatia made more tackles from Udinese’s back-four. Just 1.1 interception and 2.1 clearances highlight his less-defensive qualities, though this can be partly attributed to his role as a wing-back, as opposed to a full-back. Isla was awarded 1 Man of the Match award and averaged 7.07 per game in WhoScored.com’s ratings.

Ignazio Abate - Combined Total 2.1 Key Passes & Successful Dribbles per game

Only Alexandre Pato made more successful dribbles than Abate for champions Milan. While the forward registered 1.5 per game, Abate -Milan’s first-choice right-back- averaged 1.3 from his 29 appearances; on the opposite flank, Luca Antonini made 0.5 at left-back, a clear indication of what Abate offers.

Although the Milan man tops the successful dribbles category from our five full-backs, he’s bottom of the five for key passes, though with 0.8 per game, he adds plenty to Milan going forward, a stat backed up by his 1.2 successful crosses per game. Abate can count himself a little unlucky to have picked up just 1 assist last season, though, with his attacking contribution a significant part of Milan’s play.

Defensively, only Milan’s central midfield three offered more tackles- Abate made 3.2 per game, easily the best of our five full-backs. He also managed 2.1 interceptions, third best at Milan, and with 3 clearances per game, his work in stopping opponents is an integral part of a defence that conceded just 24 goals last season. Abate picked up 1 Man of the Match award and averaged 7.30 in WhoScored.com’s ratings.

Rafinha - Combined Total 2.1 Key Passes & Successful Dribbles per game

His performances for Genoa last season persuaded Bayern Munich to snap Rafinha up on a three-year contract this summer. An adaptable player, the Brazilian was fielded in four different positions last season, including right wing and central midfield, though the German giants have purchased him as a right-back.

Rafinha made 1.5 key passes per game last term, fourth best of his club side, and managed 0.6 dribbles from the right flank in addition to 1.1 successful crosses. With 46.6 passes per game, he saw more of the ball than any other Genoa player bar one- Omar Milanetto, their central midfielder- as the side looked to Rafinha to provide inspiration from out wide. Fantastic in distribution, he had a 83% pass accuracy and surprisingly picked up just 1 assist all season. He did, however, grab 2 goals from an average of 0.6 shots per game over his total of 34 appearances.

His defensive contribution is solid, if unspectacular- 2.2 tackles per game was bettered only by Dominico Criscito in Genoa’s back-four, though 1 interception and 2.3 clearances perhaps indicates a vulnerability at the back. He also managed just 39% aerial success and it’s clear to see why Genoa fielded him further forward on many occasions. As a result, perhaps, Rafinha is the lowest of our five in WhoScored.com’s match ratings, with 6.87 per match over the season.

Federico Balzaretti - Combined Total 2.0 Key Passes & Successful Dribbles per game

With 1.5 key passes per game, the Palermo left-back was third best creator for his club last season, just pipped by the attacking central midfield pairing of Javier Pastore and Josip Ilicic. Playing in a 4-3-2-1 formation, Balzaretti’s runs down the left flank are a pivotal part of Palermo’s game, offering width to a narrow midfield three and it’s no coincidence that he and right-back Mattia Cassani are third and first for successful crosses for the side, with 0.9 and 1.2 respectively.

Balzaretti sees more of the ball than any other Palermo player, averaging 50 passes, and his pass accuracy (88%) is superb for a full-back, and easily the best of the five here. With such strong distribution, Balzaretti managed 7 assists over the season and his eye for goal saw him muster 0.5 shots per game, hitting the net on 2 occasions.

Palermo’s set-up means Balzaretti also has to be strong at the back and he doesn’t disappoint- an average of 2.2 tackles is a solid amount but it’s his interceptions that impress the most; with 2.5 per game, he’s the best of the bunch here and shows an eye for nicking in and breaking up opponents play. He also picked up 1 Man of the Match award and averaged 7.04 per game in WhoScored.com’s ratings over the course of the 2010/11 season.