Thanks to the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, saying the word ‘interception’ to most fans of Serie A instantly conjures up transcripts Luciano Moggi’s conversations on a Swiss mobile phone, undoubtedly one telling someone on the other end how he alone was responsible for Massimo Moratti’s continually poor record in the transfer market. However this season, perhaps more than any other, stealing the ball mid-pass has become a vital skill to defending teams in Italian football. Far from it’s image as a dour, defensive league, a number of teams have embraced the modern penchant for pressing further up the pitch and are playing a much more modern brand of football.
While Juventus, under new coach Antonio Conte, are perhaps the highest profile example - recording 21.4 interceptions per game - other teams, such as newly promoted Siena (21.7 per game) and the Sicilian duo of Palermo (19.5) and Catania (19.7) have also emulated a style of play more synonymous with Spain or Portugal. This new approach leads to mistakes by the team in possession and results in misplaced or forced passes that are far easier for defences to read. What follows is a look at the top five Serie A players so far this season in terms of average interceptions per game;
5th: Thiago Silva (Milan) 3.5 Interceptions per game (45 in total)
Absolutely no surprise to see the Brazilian on this list, his ability to read the game as play unfolds around him long since identified as one of his best attributes. He has been forced to play alongside a raft of partners with varying degrees of success, from the sublime Alessandro Nesta who brings out the best in Thiago to Daniele Bonera who regularly leaves Milan’s number 33 to it on his own.
Much of this is due to Milan’s style of play which has reverted to a much more compact, defensively solid approach that relies on the brilliance of their front-line to win them matches. Thiago Silva’s contribution is very much in-keeping with the range of skills which saw him compared to Marcel Desailly who, early in his Milan career, was deployed in a central midfield role as Massimiliano Allegri did with Thiago last season.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that his 45 interceptions are almost 21% of Milan’s total, the Rossoneri have a combined total of just 215 which puts them a lowly seventeenth in Serie A in this category. His total is also more than double that of his closest team-mate, left-back Luca Antonini has the next highest with a mere 21 to his name.
4th: Daniele De Rossi (Roma) 3.8 Interceptions per game (53 in total)
If it was no surprise to see Thiago Silva on this list then the inclusion of Roma’s best midfielder was equally expected. Always great in the defensive phase of the game - witness his stellar performance in central defence against Juventus this week - he is another player easily identified as an intelligent reader of the game.
While the lack of other players intercepting the ball for Milan is largely down to their tactical set-up, the same is conversely true for the Giallorossi. Luis Enrique has them playing a completely different style of football, one which thrives on winning the ball back quickly and then maintaining possession. De Rossi has been key to that, not only registering the most interceptions but also averaging 68.9 passes per game at an impressive 88.2% completion rate, good enough for second and tenth best in the league respectively. He, perhaps more than any other player, embodies everything positive about the new look Roma.
3rd: Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) 4.0 Interceptions per game (56 in total)
If the first two men on the list are readily associated with the skills necessary to thrive in this category, the Juventus number three is the exact opposite. Widely regarded as a tough, strong and imposing defender, he is viewed as the hard-man foil to a more intelligent partner. His struggles alongside another ‘stopper’ in Fabio Cannavaro over recent seasons bore that out, as has his clear improvement when played alongside smoother players such as Nicola Legrottaglie or Andrea Barzagli.
Yet here is Chiellini, third on average but with more actual interceptions in total than any other Serie A player, quickly keying in to new coach Antonio Conte’s demands for constant pressing when Juve lose possession and doing it while switching between a central defensive position and extended stints at left-back. That Barzagli also has 45 interceptions (at an average of 3.2 per game that puts him tenth in the league) shows just how instrumental the pair have been in the resurgence of Turin’s Old Lady.
2nd: Édgar Barreto (Palermo) 4.1 Interceptions per game (53 in total)
While the arrival of Matías Silvestre was widely lauded as a key signing for Palermo this summer as the Rosanero looked to improve their previously poor defence, the capture of Atalanta defender Édgar Barreto went largely under the radar. However, since the pair arrived at the Renzo Barbera they have formed a solid partnership, complimenting each other extremely well and have played a key role in pushing Palermo as high as sixth in the table.
While the Paraguayan has shone brightest in this category (Silvestre averages 2.4 interceptions per game) and tackling (again he leads the team with 3.5 per game, topping his partner’s 2.0), Silvestre has impressed in terms of blocked shots and clearances, where he ranks fifth in Serie A in both statistics.
1st: Lúcio (Inter) 4.7 Interceptions per game (52 in total)
Surprised? In some ways, seeing the Brazilian top the chart here should shock nobody, at 33 he has spent his career snuffing out danger for some of the world’s biggest clubs and winning almost every top honour in the game. He is another player constantly stepping out of defence, sparking counter-attacks and making marauding runs into the opposition half while rarely being caught out of position defensively.
Yet Inter’s disastrous start to the season, which saw Giampiero Gasperini try unsuccessfully to implement his beloved 3-4-3 formation before he was sacked, and continued issues in defence make Lúcio’s contribution genuinely interesting. While Cristian Chivu and others in the squad show clear signs of aging, their previous solidity crumbling, the former Bayern Munich man continues to perform well.
Not only does he top the league table here but he is also sixth best in the country in terms of clearances (8.8 per game) while leading Inter’s players in almost every defensive stat. He will be a key figure as Claudio Ranieri looks to resurrect the Nerazzurri, perhaps the one older defender the club should retain as it looks to refresh it’s back-line with players like Andrea Ranocchia and Yuto Nagatomo.
