Mattia De Sciglio

[ACMILAN1983]

missed it but happy belated birthday

[xudong]

Inzaghi in the presser today: "I think De Sciglio’s season is over."

[Mystik]

wtf? The injury is that bad?

[reza]

Initially it was supposed to be middle of March but season over is end of May! Big difference.

[xudong]

this is perhaps the last thing he needs - longterm injury.

[maharaja]

This season couldn't get any worse for him. Awful form, not a single decent game, and then this injury

[ACMILAN1983]

Following the news about De Sciglio possibly leaving again, I've been thinking about what might be the best use for him at Milan (as mentioned in the mercato thread, I wouldn't sell him).

Fundamentally, my conclusion was that he might be best used as a CB. I raised this question as a possibility in the past, but now again it seems to me that his best role would be in the centre.

His qualities are his concentration, tackling, tactical discipline and reading of the game. Before it's pointed out that this hasn't necessarily been the case in his recent performances, I'm well aware of this (and agree) and suspect it's to do with the environment around him and the lack of organisation throughout the team, rather than a lack of ability on his part.

When you look at these positive attributes, they're all qualities of a good defender, not necessarily of a good wingback or winger (i.e. in the attacking third). Which leads me to another point, which is the criticism aimed at him going forward this season. Generally speaking I would say that the biggest issues people have with him is his mixed to poor crossing and his lack of "explosive" acceleration.

On his crossing, a lot of people were very complimentary of his crossing when he first broke through, so I wondered why he struggled now. My conclusion is that now he has less time to pick his cross than in the past when he first broke into the side (teams are more aware of his ability), which means he's often expected to cross while still on the move. However, it's notable that when he crosses the ball he often wants to stop, take a look and then essentially pick a pass. That doesn't work for a winger/wingback who's expected to cross when they have momentum of a forward run.

That said, De Sciglio's passing is of good quality, to the point where he can comfortably play a long pass when he has space. This is a useful skill in CBs, who are expected to play the ball out from defence and start attacking moves, acting somewhat like a regista.

The other fault I mentioned of De Sciglio is his lack of acceleration, which again is necessary for wide players, much less so for CBs. The more I think about these strengths and weaknesses, the more I feel he'll be better groomed as a CB than a wingback.

Then of course there's the key factor that De Sciglio was always developed as a CB in the youth set up. It was only on entry into the first team that he was used as a wingback. The reason he was put wide was his slight figure and therefore a fear he might struggle in the centre where a lot of teams desire more imposing figures.

However, I believe this is actually a mistake by clubs in the modern game. Too much emphasis is being placed on the physical qualities of defenders rather than other technical and mental qualities. Take some of the great defenders of history, such as Beckenbaur, Sammer, Baresi, Tassotti and Fabio Cannavaro. None were particularly big, yet all were considered some of the great defenders of the past. Interesting fact is that De Sciglio is actually taller and often heavier than these names.

It wouldn't hurt De Sciglio to put on a bit of muscle and be more aggressive when challenging an opponent for the ball, but fundamentally on a purely athletic level, there is no reason why he can't be a top level CB.

Finally, what convinces me that De Sciglio could be a success at CB is the similarities he shares to another legendary defender to don the red and black. Some might think I'm talking about Maldini, but actually I'm referring to Billy Costacurta. The strengths and qualities of Costacurta and De Sciglio are remarkably similar, although with De Sciglio having more pace and Costacurta having better tactical qualities. Their weaknesses are also quite similar as Costacurta never had the greatest of acceleration and wasn't the best at crossing while running down the flank. Interesting to note that both are also the same height and weight.

As a result I believe De Sciglio can transition into a CB. I wondered what others might think.

[Acmir]

I've actually thought about this and think it's a great idea. As you said De Sciglio is too slow, he's attacking skills are just not good enough, and I don't think he can improve much in that department, which is essential for a wingback. Converting him into a CB would be a smart decision, and when in need we can you use him as a wingback. He can be the new Bonera, but I hope he won't follow his dreadful career.

[xudong]

Interesting thought, and I believe that it came up a couple of seasons ago. I personally would like to give it a try and see how it goes.

[ACMILAN1983]

I've actually thought about this and think it's a great idea. As you said De Sciglio is too slow, he's attacking skills are just not good enough, and I don't think he can improve much in that department, which is essential for a wingback. Converting him into a CB would be a smart decision, and when in need we can you use him as a wingback. He can be the new Bonera, but I hope he won't follow his dreadful career.

Is it conversion? Just curious as like I said it's been commented how he's always been developed as a CB

Again, I think Billy Costacurta is a better example than Bonera, in that Costacurta was always a CB during his earlier years at Milan, but during his latter years was used all across the backline.

Interesting thought, and I believe that it came up a couple of seasons ago. I personally would like to give it a try and see how it goes.

I posted about it back in April last year, which is when Eranio commented he was always a CB at youth level. Page 6 of this thread if you're interested.

He was also used as CB against Siena a couple of years ago, a performance which I debated with Aficio about. Here are the highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX5CtaujjNA