Top 5 Goal Scoring Centre Halves for 2010/11- Serie A

The second article in our series focusing on goal scoring centre halves sees Serie A come under the microscope. Three of our top five proved crucial to their clubs in the bottom half of Italy’s top division, while just one player- Udinese’s Mehdi Benatia- starred for any of the top seven teams. It’s interesting to note that while our Premier League top 5 centre halves scored a total of 25 goals between them, the Serie A featured five netted 19 times in comparison. Here’s the rundown:

Matias Silvestre - 6 goals 1 assist

Attacking
Silvestre was second-top scorer for Catania last season, with only Maxi Lopez (8) netting more. The club captain was a key presence in the side, missing just two league games in 2010/11, as Catania racked up a record Serie A points haul in a campaign that saw them grab an impressive twelfth place finish.

Easily the most impressive goal scorer of our centre-halves, Silvestre averaged 0.7 shots per game, the second highest here, and found the net 6 times from just 25 goal attempts. He also picked up 1 assist, meaning he contributed to 7 of his side’s 40 Serie A goals; only two Catania players -Lopez and Alejandro Gomez- managed more.

Defending
His 1.5 tackles per game and 1.7 interceptions are the lowest of our five, but Silvestre was the standout centre-half at Catania. Defensive partner Nicolas Spoli made 1.2 and 1.7 respectively and Silvestre also led the way in clearances (8.6 to 7.4) and blocked shots (0.5 to 0.2), clearly highlighting his relative importance to the Catania first XI.

Silvestre comes second here for clearances and is also second for aerial success, with 65%, as his prowess in the air proved key at both ends of the pitch. Although he failed to pick up a Man of the Match award, Silvestre’s WhoScored.com rating of 6.83 per game was the highest of Catania’s most-used XI last season.

Cesare Bovo - 4 goals 1 assist

Attacking
Only four Palermo players scored more than Cesare Bovo in 2010/11. His haul of 4 goals is more than the combined total of the other eight Palermo defenders that took to the field last season.

Bovo managed 1 shot per game, the most of our centre-halves here, meaning he had 32 shots over the course of the previous campaign. With 1 assist, he contributed to a total of 5 of Palermo’s 58 goals as the club, led by the genius of Javier Pastore, managed an eighth-placed finish.

Defending
Bovo’s 2.2 tackles per game is the second best of our five, and he also leads the way for blocks here, with 0.9 per game. In comparison to his central-defensive partner Ezequiel Munoz, his stats highlight just how important Bovo was at the back in addition to going forward.

He leads Munoz on tackles (2.2 to 1.9), clearances (6.8 to 5.9) and blocked shots (0.9 to 0.8), though is bettered when it comes to interceptions, with Munoz edging it by 2.7 to 2.5. His 64% aerial success rate is third of our featured players and again beats Munoz, who registered 60%. Bovo also picked up 2 Man of the Match awards and had a WhoScored.com match rating of 6.99 per game, the second most impressive of all our Serie A centre-halves.

Miguel Britos - 3 goals 1 assist

Attacking
With 3 goals, Miguel Britos was third-top scorer for Bologna last season. The club finished in fifteenth position, just six points off the drop, scoring a mere 35 goals in 2010/11.

Britos managed just 0.4 shots per game, one of the lowest in his team and the bottom of our five, yet despite a meagre 14 shots at goal last season, still had the finishing ability to grab those 3 aforementioned goals. He also grabbed 1 assist, contributing to 4 Bologna goals- only two players managed more for the team, Marco Di Vaio and Gaston Ramirez.

Defending
Britos’ 3 interceptions per game is the second highest of our five, though an average of 6.6 clearances sees him bottom here. When compared to his central defensive partner Daniele Portanova, the pair clearly have differing games that complement one another- Britos leads the way for tackles (1.6 to 1) and interceptions (3 to 2.2) but Portanova is the most impressive of the pair when it comes to clearances (7.2 to 6.6) and blocks (0.8 to 0.6).

Britos is top for aerial success here with an outstanding 76% far ahead of any of the other five- again, he betters Portanova at Palermo, who nevertheless managed a fantastic 70%. He also picked up 3 Man of the Match awards, joint-top with Mehid Benatia of our featured five and averaged 6.75 per game in WhoScored.com’s ratings for 2010/11.

Bostjan Cesar - 3 goals

Attacking
Cesar’s 3 goals saw him finish as third-top scorer for Chievo last term. The club finished eleventh in Serie A but scored just 38 goals, with a heavy reliance on top scorer Sergio Pellissier (11) to find the net.

His 0.5 shots per game was one of the lowest at his club but Cesar showed a determination to find the net, scoring those 3 goals from just 16 shots, over a total of 32 appearances.

Defending
Cesar was at the heart of the fourth-best defence in Serie A last season- Chievo conceded just 40 goals, less than second placed Inter. Third for tackles here, with 1.8, he leads the way of our five when it comes to clearances, with a brilliant 9.5 per game. A look at the defensive output of Chievo’s other main centre-half, Marco Andreolli, suggests it is he who has the more dominant presence of the pair, however.

Andreolli bettered Cesar’s stats when it came to interceptions (2.4 to 2.1), blocks (0.6 to 0.4) and even clearances, with 9.8 to 9.5. Cesar made more tackles (1.8 to 1.6) and the pair were tied for aerial success on 63%. Cesar also picked up 2 Man of the Match awards, joint-second at Chievo, and picked up an average 6.69 per game in WhoScored.com’s match ratings.

Mehdi Benatia - 3 goals

Attacking
Benatia finished the season fourth-top scorer for Udinese, as the side clinched a top four finish in Serie A. Only Antonio Di Natale (28), Alexis Sanchez (12) and German Denis (4), the club’s main forwards, scored more times.

Benatia averaged 0.5 shots per game (joint-third here) from his 34 games, which is a total of 17 goal attempts. At Udinese, only one defender -Maurizio Domizzi- had a higher average, with 0.6.

Defending
Udinese’s main formation was 3-5-2, with the club playing three at the back in 35 of their 38 games. Benatia leads the way here for tackles, with a fantastic 3.6 per game, and interceptions, as he averaged 4.5 per game. His combined total for the two of 8.1 betters second-placed Bovo here, who has a combined 4.7 for the two categories. Compared to the others in our top five, Benatia is third for clearances, with 7.9, and his 0.7 blocked shots is second top. The only stat that fails to impress as much is aerial success- he managed a rate of just 53%, though this was mainly due to the fact that he didn’t play in a conventional back-four.

Compared to his Udinese teammates, Benatia stands out again. Top for tackles and interceptions, he’s just beaten into second for clearances by Christian Zapata, by 8 to 7.9. His brilliance at the back, in addition to in the opposition penalty box, saw Benatia pick up 3 Man of the Match awards and an average rating of 7.18 in WhoScored.com’s ratings, easily the best of our featured centre-halves.