In the reverse of our feature studying the world's leading wingers for their attacking threat from wide, we continue our look at the leading players in the same positions for their defensive contribution to their respective sides. Having analysed the Premier League yesterday, once again we move onto the Serie A this time around.

All figures shown relate to the performances each player made from wide positions only and are based on WhoScored.com ratings for defensive contribution, including tackles and interceptions per game. Players analysed all played 10 games or more from wide positions last season.

Our findings again show some interesting and impressive statistics, with another Juventus man, as in the attacking winger's top 5 for the Serie A, topping the pile. Two Sampdoria players also make their way onto the leader board despite not being able to prevent their side from relegation last season, whilst Genoa and Parma are also represented having finished 10th and 12th respectively last term.

 

Serie A's Top 5 Wingers for Defensive Contribution

 

Claudio Marchisio
Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio was deployed on the left wing for much of last season, playing 18 times out wide of his 32 appearances overall. The 25-year-old finished top of the defensive winger standings for half the categories analysed, proving his worth at the top of our leader board. Having made 2.39 interceptions per game, way above the remaining contenders, his combined score of 4.61 for defensive stats, including a score of 2.22 tackles per game, sees him lead the way. Despite his work rate going backwards, he also provided the highest percentage of accurate crosses of our 5 with 34% and completed the highest percentage of successful dribbles with 45%.

Although the Italy international's tackles per game score of 2.22 ranked him 4th, we have already established that his defensive contribution combined is a list leader. His high figures in terms of cross accuracy and dribble success come from significantly fewer attempts in both regards than some of his counterparts, though his key passes per game figure of 0.89 is arguably his weakest statistic.

Francesco Valiani
Experienced midfielder Francesco Valiani was utilized in a central position more often than not last term, but did make 12 appearances from the right wing. His contribution of 2.92 tackles per game was the second highest, showing his defensive qualities in this regard. However, going forward he did not disappoint from wide either, making a decent 3.5 crosses per game, and reaching his target with a highly impressive 29% of his aforementioned efforts. His dribble success rate of 42% was also commendable having attempted almost twice the amount on average per game than Marchisio, with 1.67. His only leading statistics proved to be his ability to set-up teammates, picking up a valuable 3 assists from just 12 starts out wide, along with 1.42 key passes per game.

A high contribution all-round saw Valiani only falter somewhat in terms of interceptions made per game, with 0.92 ranking 4th, along with his inability to get on the scoresheet from wide, though he was not the only one of our top 5 to fail to do so.

Daniele Mannini
27-year-old Daniele Mannini was only a bit part player in Sampdoria's relegation campaign last season, though his efforts in both a defensive and attacking sense suggest he was unlucky to feature just 11 times from the start on the wing. Mannini's defensive contribution of 2.17 tackles and 1.27 interceptions per game was the lowest combined score of the top 5 but is still more than respectable. He fared best with regards to his attacking input though, having attempted a huge list high of 6.27 crosses per match. Hitting the target with 17% of these deliveries is not outstanding, but again a decent score. He also attempted over double the number of dribbles per game, proving his confidence when attacking defenders, and was the only player aside from Marchisio to score on the list, netting twice.

Despite attempting a high number of dribbles per game, Mannini may need to pick and choose his opportunities to do so more carefully in the future, having only beaten his man with 23% of his efforts. He also proved somewhat ineffective in terms of assisting his teammates, failing to do so from wide areas and contributing just 0.91 key passes a game, despite his high number of crosses.

Marco Rossi
Genoa's veteran midfielder Marco Rossi's statistics may hint that a move into full-back may well favour his game due to his advanced age. The Italian featured 17 times from the wing in his 32 starts last season and led the way in terms of tackles made per game, with a crucial 3.29. His defensive contribution far out-weighed his threat in an attacking sense, with his work rate when his side are not in possession proving a real asset.

Other than his high tackle rate, Rossi faltered in the more attacking facets to a winger's game, particularly in comparison with the rest of the leader board. He attempted just 0.88 crosses per game from wide and was successful with a meagre 13% of said attempts. The 33-year-old also opted to take on his opponent just 1 time per match and was successful with the lowest proportion of his dribbling attempts with 20%. The assumption that Rossi offers little going forward is supported by the fact that he made just 0.47 key passes per game from the wing, as well as failing to notch a single goal or assist.

Vladimir Koman
The second Sampdoria inclusion in our top 5 comes in the form of Ukrainian Vladimir Koman.  The young winger, 22, was, like Mannini, nothing more than a squad player last term, making 11 starts from wide areas. He failed to top the list in any of the categories analysed but did rank third for tackles per game with 2.27, and second for both crosses per game (3.82) and key passes per game (1.09). His high number of crosses attempted, along with Mannini's leading figure is indicative of Sampdoria's high importance placed on getting deliveries into the box to supply the likes of Pazzini and Cassano prior to their respective departures.

Koman fared poorly when it came to his dribbling statistics having been successful with just 22% of his meagre 0.91 efforts per game. His inability to score or assist was also a downfall, though his poorest figure laid in his cross accuracy, having found his target with just 10% of the high 3.82 crosses he attempted per match.