The 2019/20 season isn’t officially concluded but given its suspension because of COVID-19, its continuation – should it resume – would almost feel like a new mini-campaign to check off the remaining fixtures.
As such, it seems only fair to acknowledge the players who have performed admirably during the course of the normal campaign.
We’re putting together the Team of the Season for each of Europe’s top five leagues.
In this edition, we picked 22 of the best performing players in Serie A and, with your help, narrow it down to the best XI.
Using polls on our Instagram Stories, we pit players in each position against each other and let you decide who deserves to make the cut.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Ciro Immobile and Josip Ilicic make for a mouth-watering attack in our XI, but there were some huge omissions as well.
Follow our Instagram page to get involved. Here’s what our Serie A Team of the Season looks like:
GK: Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)
Not only did Wojciech Szczesny pull off the impossible by replacing Gianluigi Buffon ably last season, but he’s gone one further by keeping the legend on the bench upon his return from Paris this term. The 29-year-old is at his peak and among the more reliable shot-stoppers around. This season 42.1 per cent of his appearances have ended in clean sheets.
RB: Antonio Candreva (Inter Milan)
He may be 33 but Antonio Candreva is enjoying one of his finest seasons. Antonio Conte’s wing-backs system has seen him flourish, allowing him to exercise his attacking prowess. His fives assists is more than any other defender has managed this season, while he’s also chipped in with two goals.
CB: Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan)
His central defensive partner Milan Skriniar may be hugely sought after, but Stefan de Vrij has eclipsed him with his own performances this season. The 28-year-old has shown outstanding maturity and has been at the foundation of Inter’s fine title-chasing campaign. In a back three, De Vrij has proved his composure on the ball as well, registering a pass success rate of 91.5 per cent.
CB: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
Expensive young hot-shot Matthijs de Ligt may have been all the hype upon his arrival in Turin last summer but with Giorgio Chiellini injured early in the season, it was fellow veteran Leonardo Bonucci who stepped up to the plate. The experienced 32-year-old has led the back-line admirably and even puts the team on the front foot with a ball progression every 6.21 minutes – the second best in the league.
LB: Theo Hernandez (AC Milan)
With five goals and two assists, Theo Hernandez has been one of the best attacking full-backs in the division. That was always his forte, though. Even more impressive, and encouraging for AC Milan, is his improvement in defence. He’s among the best left-backs for a variety of defensive actions while his blocking of passes, crosses and shots has been particularly impressive.
CM: Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari)
It’s been a fine homecoming of sorts for Radja Nainggolan, returning to Cagliari – albeit on loan from Inter – where he made his Serie A debut. He has proved to be a driving force with a goal and a hat-trick of assists in a 5-2 win over Fiorentina the highlight of a fantastic start to the season. The campaign has somewhat faded of late, but the all-action midfielder continued to show his quality. His five goals from distance is second only to Lionel Messi (8) in Europe’s top five leagues.
RCM: Lorenzo Pellegrini (AS Roma)
A slightly surprising entry given Domenico Berardi’s phenomenal season, but the people have spoken. Lorenzo Pellegrini has only scored once this campaign but his talent is undeniable and in the creative department, he certainly isn’t lacking. He ranks third with eight assists from just 18 appearances and only Luis Alberto (3) betters his 2.9 key passes per game.
LCM: Luis Alberto (Lazio)
From Liverpool reject to playmaker extraordinaire, Alberto is enjoying his finest season yet. The 27-year-old has been Lazio’s chief creative force during a stellar season as strong title contenders. In fact, with 12 assists and 75 key passes, the Spaniard is the league’s best playmaker, even scoring on four occasions.
CF: Josip Ilicic (Atalanta)
In a league where Cristiano Ronaldo exists and Ciro Immobile is scoring for fun, a 32-year-old Josip Ilicic has emerged as the favourite for Player of the Season. And who can deny him? Some of his play this term has been breath-taking, gliding past challenges elegantly and caressing the ball into the goal or a team-mate’s path to score. With 15 goals, fives assists and 2.5 key passes per game, the gifted Slovenian has led Champions League knockout entrants Atalanta sublimely.
ST: Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
As the runaway top scorer with 27 league goals, Immobile’s inclusion is a given. His seven assists as well puts him top for most goal involvements this season with 34. The Italian has been the perfect marksman for a Lazio team boasting several supply lines and he’s shouldered the goal-scoring responsibility superbly to fire them within touching distance of their first title in over 20 years.
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo has been a mainstay in Team of the Season XIs for well over a decade and even at 35, that trend continues. He started the campaign slowly was afforded plenty of rest in between fixtures by Maurizio Sarri, but pushed at the turn of the year. He began with a hat-trick and assist against Cagliari on a run that’s seen him score 11 times in the last eight league matches to take his tally for the season to 21. He’s also struck the woodwork on four occasions.
Cristiano Ronaldo
