As the game has developed, the onus on ball retention and the recycling of possession has increased significantly. Teams are no longer looking towards the utilisation of a powerful target man as a battering room through the opposition defence as managers will often require their players to hold onto the ball and continuously probe as a means of attacking.
While this has seen the use of a burly striker diminish somewhat, the top teams in Europe have since become more reliant on slighter, technically gifted performers, regardless of the physical approach adopted by some teams, as a way of securing a maximum number of points in the quest to land a major piece of silverware.
Naturally, a key cog of the midfield engine room for the system to work is that one player who can unlock a defence in the blink of an eye, while holding onto the ball to ease the pressure and defensive burden placed on his teammates operating behind the midfield.
As such, any player with a higher pass accuracy will not only aid in shouldering the responsibility of the defenders, but also provide another outlet and a point of which to attack from. Building an attack slowly may well see the entertainment value drop somewhat, but teams who regularly adopt this approach often benefit as a result, regardless of the discontent from supporters that could well emerge.
While the dogged defensive work is often overlooked, similar can be said of the player who provides the basis to build from in the middle of the park. Regardless, it’s no surprise to see Xavi head the list for the most accurate passes per game in Europe’s top five leagues this season, when relating to the latter.
The Spaniard has regularly won the plaudits for his ability in the midfield, such is his capacity to bring others into play, especially in a Barcelona team that have regularly been lavished with praise from the voyeuristic football fan.
Being the hub of the team requires an astute eye for a pass and Xavi boasts exactly that, having completed 94.8% of his passes this season, while averaging 1.5 key passes per game. Furthermore, having attempted 2886 passes this season - the highest in Europe’s top five leagues - the midfielder completed an average of 91.2 passes per game, having misplaced only 150 passes in 30 appearances - 24 of which were starts - this term.
When compared across Europe’s top five leagues, that figure is 17.2 more passes per game than Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta (74), with the Spaniard completing the second highest amount of total passes this season (2517). His accuracy, although excellent at 91.5%, is also a signinficant drop from that of his compatriot.
Yet, Arteta remains one of only three players to have completed an average of over 70 passes per game, with Manchester City’s Yaya Touré the closest to the Gunners ace, having found a teammate 70.2 times per game this season. The Ivorian international's accuracy is lower still, at 88.9% while, Sergio Busquets (69.5) and Andrea Pirlo (68.7) complete the top five players to have played the most accurate passes per game in Europe’s top five leagues, with the former's accuracy (92.2%) enough to rank among the top ten players this season.
With three of the five aforementioned players playing for a team that won their respective leagues this season - Xavi and Busquets for Barcelona and Pirlo for Juventus - this points towards the need for a player to control proceedings in the midfield.
Furthermore, with Manchester City and Arsenal coming second and fourth respectively in the Premier League, the inclusion of Touré and Arteta comes as little surprise, with the pairing enjoying a certain level of success regardless of their inability to secure a major piece of notable silverware this year.
It’s also perhaps particularly important to note that three of the five players are Spanish, and while Arteta is yet to be capped by the current world champions, Spain have regularly been associated with the brand of football commonly known as ‘Tika-Taka’. The passing stats certainly reinforce the notion that the La Roja attempt to ‘suffocate’ the opposition, ultimately leading to victory as proven in the 2012 European Championship.
With that in mind, the inclusion of Alex Song (66.25), Andrés Iniesta (65.5) and Jordi Alba (65.4) in the top 10 most accurate passers per game saw Barcelona’s dominance of La Liga come as no real surprise, with Tito Vilanova’s side matching Real Madrid’s record points total (100) on their way to landing domestic glory this year.
Moreover, as a collective, seeing Barcelona complete the most accurate passes per game in Europe’s top five leagues (668.4) comes as little shock with the vast number of individuals in the rankings. Xavi alone accounted for 13.6% of that average figure, despite only making 24 starts this term, highlighting his superior vision and passing capabilities. However, that percentage is lower than that of Pirlo (15.9%), Touré (15.6%) and Arteta (15.5%), while it's the Italian that has made the most forward passes (842) out of the quintet, drawing attention to his importance to the system Antonio Conte has introduced at Juventus.
Either way, the aforementioned figures highlight the importance of a player with exceptional passing statistics as a means of leading a team to success.
