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Linking attack and defence, a midfielder has a pivotal role in every club. Some may be more creative, while others may be more defensive-centred. In general, the roles of these midfielders are quite similar: to orchestrate their team's attacking and defensive movements.
The Serie A has always been a place for great midfielders to show their exceptional talent. Dino Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Pavel Nedved, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, to mention a few, are all examples of astonishing midfielders who left their own legacy in Italy.
Some more recent examples are the ones of Jorginho, Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba who, after making some spectacular performances in the Serie A, continued their career abroad.
The list of past and present great Serie A midfielders is neverending. Every season in the Calcio, new and talented players rise and combine their powers with the oldest and more experienced ones. The 2018/19 season is no exception.
Here, are the best 5 midfielders in the Serie A 2018/2019:
#5 Piotr Zielinski (Napoli)
Napoli found a perfect replacement for Jorginho, who signed for Chelsea earlier in the summer, in the face of the young Polish, Zielinski. Carlo Ancelotti has put all of his faith into the youngster and he hasn't let him down.
Used mainly as a substitute to Hamsik last season, the 24-yeard-old has embraced his new role under Ancelotti this season.
Zielinski scored twice in Napoli's Serie A opening against Milan, guiding his team to an astonishing comeback from a two-goal deficit. Of course, he has shown much more in the 3 games of the Partenopei with the highlight being the 11 times he has recovered the ball, more than anyone else.
With a 91.9% pass accuracy so far this season and an average of 3.3 shots per game, the brilliant playmaker has already left his mark in San Paolo and has almost made Napoli's fans ignore the poor performances of their captain, Marek Hamsik.
Even if he was limited to a mediocre performance during Napoli's heavy 3-0 defeat to Sampdoria, Zielinski is already regarded as one of Serie A's best midfielders this season. His former coach, Maurizio Sarri, nicknamed Zielinski as 'the next Kevin De Bruyne'. The best is yet to come from the young Polish international.
#4 Radja Nainggolan (Inter Milan)
The 'Ninja' has made a tremendous impact in Serie A since his days at Cagliari. After his sensational move to Inter from Roma earlier in the summer, the Belgian has featured in only one game for the Nerazzurri's this season after being sidelined due to an injury.
Nevertheless, he returned stronger than ever in weekday 3 against Bologna, inspiring a 0-3 win for his team as he opened the scoring. Regarded as one of the most complete midfielders in Europe, Nainggolan's leadership skills and never-give-up attitude make him a must-have for every top club in the world.
His fierce style of play, his ability to play in almost every position in the midfield area and most importantly, his offensive as well as defensive qualities can make Nainggolan Inter's driving force.
Last season, the 'Ninja' helped Roma not only with his tenacious defending but also by creating dangerous attacking situations. He scored 4 times and provided 8 assists while maintaining an 83% pass accuracy and almost 2 key passes per game throughout last season.
A perfect fit for every role in the midfield, Nainggolan is surely Inter's most important acquisition in the latest transfer window.
#3 Allan (Napoli)
Napoli signed Allan from Udinese in 2015 after he completed the 2014/2015 season with 127 successful tackles, a record in Serie A. He has since been spectacular for the Partenopei.
A fierce defensive midfielder, Allan had featured at the core of Napoli's midfield during the Maurizio Sarri era and his role remains intact under the newly arrived Carlo Ancelotti.
During the last season, the Brazilian was in exceptional form averaging an 87.7% pass accuracy while conceding only 1.8 dribbles per game. He was voted 3 times as MVP.
Allan embarked this season with an outstanding performance against Milan. According to the official stats, Allan has recovered the ball 9 times (only Zielinski did better with 11) and created at least 5 attacking situations for his team. Moreover, he is the player with the most ball touches (88), an indication of his role on Napoli's game development.
Armed with great defensive and passing qualities, Allan is widely considered as the best defensive midfielder in Serie A for the past few seasons. His ball-winning abilities combined with his high-level technique make Allan a versatile, dynamic midfielder that can provide for his team both in defensive and attacking circumstances.
Apart from his tenacious gameplay, Allan is also known for making clever buildup plays for his teammates by making a swift but accurate transition of the ball once he restores its possession.
#2 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio)
Considered as one of the most promising players in the world, Savic has already attracted the interest of some of the biggest European clubs. He chose to remain at Lazio, however, it is only sure that the Serb will be again in the centre of attention in the coming transfer windows.
Savic, despite being only 23, possesses an astonishing combination of defensive and attacking qualities. Last season, the Lazio's midfielder scored 14 times, provided 9 assists and created at least 45 chances for his team.
His dominance in defensive plays was also evident. Milinkovic-Savic, in arguably his best season in his career, averaged 0.9 interceptions and clearances per game while his pass accuracy exceeded an 80%. Moreover, in the past season, he scored more goals (12) than any other Serie A midfielder.
His imposing posture helps him dominate the field, evident by the fact that, during last season, Savic won around 2.4 aerial duels. Moreover, he averaged 1.5 key passes and 1.6 successful dribbles per game making him a threat to every defence.
An intelligent but also physically talented player, Savic is destined to become one of the best midfielders in the world. His tactical versatility, his vision on the field and his creativity combined with a remarkable diligence on his defensive responsibilities are only mere indications of his talent.
#1 Miralem Pjanic (Juventus)
The Juventus maestro is the best midfielder in the 2018/2019 Serie A. A true artist of the game, Pjanic's extraordinary technical qualities make him one of the best in his position and a permanent transfer target of almost every elite club in the world.
The 2017/2018 season was arguably one of the best in the Bosnian's career. He averaged a 90.2% pass accuracy in the Serie A and 1.9 key passes per game. Even though he ended 10th with regards to the assists (9), his game-changing abilities were evident.
Moreover, in contrast to his Juve teammates Sami Khedira and Blaise Matuidi, Pjanic's greatest virtue, apart from his sensational free-kick technique, is his exceptional ability to provide very long but accurate long balls.
In fact, during last season, the 28-years-old averaged 5.2 long passes per game, a record in his career so far. Furthermore, he created 55 attacking chances for his team, the most among the Juventus squad. Last but not least, Pjanic had the best dribble success rate (82.9%) in the Serie A among the players who attempted 35 or more dribbles (WhoScored stats).
This season seems no different for the talented playmaker. In his first 3 appearances with the Bianconeri, Pjanic averaged 3 key passes and 5.7 successful long balls per game while his pass accuracy reached the 92% (207 completed passes).
The Bosnian is also known for his tenacious, ball-winning abilities. Pjanic currently tops the ball recoveries (14) among Juventus players. His playmaking and passing skills, his extreme technical qualities and his never-give-up attitude label Pjanic as the top Serie A midfielder for the current season.
