The last couple of years statistics have become more and more accepted as a reliable and good helper within football. Even Sir Alex Ferguson has hired a statistical analyst. I've never been a huge fan of this type of measurements within football, but are beginning to mellow to the idea that if one use it right, it can be very useful as a supplement.
For fun I tried it on a player that I've liked for a long time, and who I see would love to see at Old Trafford. I was lucky enough to see him live once this season, and he really stood out as a talented player. He seem to me like a player who would be a natural replacement to Paul Scholes. He only have one year left of his contract at Fiorentina, and would be available for a fee in the region of £10-15 mill. That do not look like a big risk for an Italian international aged 25 years old, and I would assume that if he did not work out we would could easily get most of the money back.
The number shows that Montolivo is the player who makes the most passes in Fiorentina. Last season he averaged 64,8 passes per game. That is close to fifty percent more than the next man on the list in Fiorentina. Pretty exceptional, actually. Paul Scholes was, to no surprise, the player who made the most passes at Manchester United, with 61,7 per game (about 15-17 percent more than Carrick and Fletcher). I almost started laughing when I saw how many accurate long balls Scholes play per game, averaging 8,4. Montolivo is on 5,7 per game. Montolivo had a passing success of 83 percent. Scholes was at 90 percent.
(Xavi had 110 passes, 27 % more than the next man and 7,4 long balls. He had a passing success of 94 %.)
Statistics also shows us that RM makes two key passes per game. Paul Scholes where at 0,9, while Ryan Giggs (our most effective player with regard to this) made 2,4 key passes per game (might be worth mentioning that while Paul Scholes was our most safe player in terms of passing, Ryan Giggs was one of our "riskiest" with a passing success of only 73 %). Montolivo made 0,8 dribbles per game, compared to Giggs 1,4 and Scholes 0,3. He was dispossessed a lot more often than both Scholes and Giggs, and this appears to be his biggest weakness "statistically". Montolivo was dispossessed 2,1 times per game, while Giggs was at 1,2 and Scholes at 0,5 (!!!). Montolivo had two goals and three assists.
(Xavi made 2,4 key passes per game, 1,3 successful dribbles per game and was dispossessed 1,4 times per game. He had three goals and seven assists.)
In defense it seems like he would represent an improvement compared to our current players. Montolivo made 2,5 interceptions per game and 2,8 successful tackles per game. Scholes made 1,6 interceptions and 1,3 successful tackles per game. Ryan Giggs was at 0,9 int and 1,4 tackles. Michael Carrick, our best midfielder in this perspective, stood at 2 and 2,2. He also have a higher duel success than our midfielders with the exception of our Scottish and Irish friends, of course .
(Xavi made one interception and one successful tackle p/g.)
There has been a lot of former Serie A players struggling to live up to their potential in Premier League and actually some former Premier League players struggling to live up to their potential in Serie A. From what I have seen of Montolivo, he seems like a player who would be better suited for the Premier League than Serie A (a bold claim, considering he is Italian, I know).
He is a versatile midfielder. During his career he has been used in a Pirlo-role, as an AM in a diamond formation and as a inside right or left in a three man midfield, and should have a lot of the qualities needed to play in a two-man midfield as well.
Hopefully Ferguson has already made a call to his close friend, Marcello Lippi, and gotten an update on the player. Marcello Lippi is known to have confidence in Riccardo Montolivos abilities. Montolivo was a regular in Lippis Italy. Lippis records speak for itself, but surely the man who brought Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids, Didier Deschamps, Thierry Henry and Pavel Nedved to Juventus, and once claimed that Paul Scholes was the first man he would build a team around if he was given the opportunity, should know a thing or two about football.
For fun I tried it on a player that I've liked for a long time, and who I see would love to see at Old Trafford. I was lucky enough to see him live once this season, and he really stood out as a talented player. He seem to me like a player who would be a natural replacement to Paul Scholes. He only have one year left of his contract at Fiorentina, and would be available for a fee in the region of £10-15 mill. That do not look like a big risk for an Italian international aged 25 years old, and I would assume that if he did not work out we would could easily get most of the money back.
The number shows that Montolivo is the player who makes the most passes in Fiorentina. Last season he averaged 64,8 passes per game. That is close to fifty percent more than the next man on the list in Fiorentina. Pretty exceptional, actually. Paul Scholes was, to no surprise, the player who made the most passes at Manchester United, with 61,7 per game (about 15-17 percent more than Carrick and Fletcher). I almost started laughing when I saw how many accurate long balls Scholes play per game, averaging 8,4. Montolivo is on 5,7 per game. Montolivo had a passing success of 83 percent. Scholes was at 90 percent.
(Xavi had 110 passes, 27 % more than the next man and 7,4 long balls. He had a passing success of 94 %.)
Statistics also shows us that RM makes two key passes per game. Paul Scholes where at 0,9, while Ryan Giggs (our most effective player with regard to this) made 2,4 key passes per game (might be worth mentioning that while Paul Scholes was our most safe player in terms of passing, Ryan Giggs was one of our "riskiest" with a passing success of only 73 %). Montolivo made 0,8 dribbles per game, compared to Giggs 1,4 and Scholes 0,3. He was dispossessed a lot more often than both Scholes and Giggs, and this appears to be his biggest weakness "statistically". Montolivo was dispossessed 2,1 times per game, while Giggs was at 1,2 and Scholes at 0,5 (!!!). Montolivo had two goals and three assists.
(Xavi made 2,4 key passes per game, 1,3 successful dribbles per game and was dispossessed 1,4 times per game. He had three goals and seven assists.)
In defense it seems like he would represent an improvement compared to our current players. Montolivo made 2,5 interceptions per game and 2,8 successful tackles per game. Scholes made 1,6 interceptions and 1,3 successful tackles per game. Ryan Giggs was at 0,9 int and 1,4 tackles. Michael Carrick, our best midfielder in this perspective, stood at 2 and 2,2. He also have a higher duel success than our midfielders with the exception of our Scottish and Irish friends, of course .
(Xavi made one interception and one successful tackle p/g.)
There has been a lot of former Serie A players struggling to live up to their potential in Premier League and actually some former Premier League players struggling to live up to their potential in Serie A. From what I have seen of Montolivo, he seems like a player who would be better suited for the Premier League than Serie A (a bold claim, considering he is Italian, I know).
He is a versatile midfielder. During his career he has been used in a Pirlo-role, as an AM in a diamond formation and as a inside right or left in a three man midfield, and should have a lot of the qualities needed to play in a two-man midfield as well.
Hopefully Ferguson has already made a call to his close friend, Marcello Lippi, and gotten an update on the player. Marcello Lippi is known to have confidence in Riccardo Montolivos abilities. Montolivo was a regular in Lippis Italy. Lippis records speak for itself, but surely the man who brought Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids, Didier Deschamps, Thierry Henry and Pavel Nedved to Juventus, and once claimed that Paul Scholes was the first man he would build a team around if he was given the opportunity, should know a thing or two about football.
