After the conclusion of one of the most thrilling campaigns in recent memory, the Cult of Calcio is now paying homage for the best performers of the 2021/22 Serie A campaign. In the fourth installment, we’ll recognize the best on the flanks in a category that includes wingers as well as wingbacks and even fullbacks.
Basically, this is about those who are able to cause havoc from the wide areas. First, we’ll name the five candidates based on alphabetic order while explaining their claims, before recognizing the best winger in Serie A, at least based on our humble opinion.
Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
Perhaps his popularity may have plummeted following some underwhelming performances with the Italian national team but, at the Mapei Stadium, Domenico Berardi remains the ultimate golden boy in a club filled with up-and-coming stars.
Even with Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori emerging to the scene, the 27-year-old maintained his role as the star of the show at Sassuolo by once again taking his game up a notch.
This season, the Euro 2020 winner registered some absolutely stunning stats. He found the back of the net on 15 occasions in Serie A, while providing his teammates with 17 assists. This means that Berardi has directly contributed in 32 goals in his 33 league appearances, more than any other player in the league.
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Theo Hernandez (Milan)
As we mentioned above, this category is meant to celebrate wide players which impeccable attacking prowess regardless of their position. So despite being a left-back on paper, Theo Hernandez is an absolute monster when surging forward.
This season, he contributed in five goals and six assists in Serie A, which is an extremely impressive tally for a fullback in Italy’s top tier division.
If there was any doubt regarding his suitability for the list, it’s enough to review his extraordinary run against Atalanta, where he unleashed his inner George Weah before scoring what surely is one of the best goals on the campaign.
Rafael Leao (Milan)
From one Diavolo to another. If Theo acts as an undercover winger, then there’s no debate regarding this one. Throughout the course of the season, Rafeal Leao slowly but surely blossomed into one of the most devastating wide forwards in the game today.
Yes, the Portuguese still has room to grow and needs to further sharpen his weapons (especially his final touch), but he’s already one of the deadliest players in Serie A.
Moreover, it was during the final stretch of the campaign that the 22-year-old proved his true worth for the club by pulling out stunning displays week in week out to put Milan over the line in the Scudetto race.
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Nahuel Molina (Udinese)
Perhaps the surprise package of the list, but Nahuel Molina deserves the recognition on the back of an excellent campaign at Udinese that saw finishing the season as the best scoring defender in Europe.
The Argentine didn’t make himself noticed after a middling first campaign in the Italian peninsula, but he surely made a name for himself in his second season.
The Boca Juniors youth product is essentially a right-back, but has proven himself to be a complete wingback with his precious contributions on both ends of the pitch.
In his 35 Serie A appearances, the 24-year-old scored seven goals and provided his teammates with five assists. His performances didn’t go unnoticed, as the likes of Juventus and Atletico Madrid are reportedly vying for his signature.
Ivan Perisic (Inter)
When Antonio Conte first arrived to Inter, he dismissed Ivan Persic, as he was absolutely convinced that the latter won’t fit within his 3-5-2 lineup.
Of course he would then make a triumphant return to Appiano Gentile with a Champions League medal in hand following a spell in Munich, prompting the famous tactician to try him as a wingback.
Fast forward to 2022, and the 33-year-old has arguably cemented himself as the best wingback in Serie A, as he continues to age like fine wine.
Although Inter missed out on the Scudetto title, Perisic proved to be one of their influential players throughout the campaign, especially in the final stretch. He finished the season with eight goals and seven assists to his name.
Despite the arrival of Robin Gosens, the former Wolfsburg man remains a key player in Simone Inzaghi’s tactical scheme, which is why the management is trying to put his signature on a contract renewal, while facing some unexpected competition from Juventus.
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Verdict
As we can see, choosing the ultimate best between five solid candidates won’t be an easy task. Moreover, the stars mentioned above play in different roles on the pitch, albeit all of them burst up and down the flank.
So let’s begin by axing some of the options.
Molina might be one of the best revelations of the Serie A campaign, but he still has a long way to go before establishing himself a spot among the true elites of the sport. But we’ll definitely hear more about him in the coming years.
As for Theo, he surely is the undisputed best left-back in Serie A, if not in Europe, but in the list designated to recognize the best Winger in the league, he falls just short.
This leaves us with three rightful contenders for the throne: Berardi, Leao and Perisic.
While the Inter veteran surely deserves a place on the podium following a late-career resurgence, he misses on the top spot due to the presence of two incredible opponents who enjoyed stellar campaigns.
When it comes to stats, the Italian remains unmatched. However, football goes well-beyond the numbers, and the extraordinary work accomplished by the Portuguese late in the campaign tipped the scale in the Rossoneri’s favor.
If it wasn’t for his late winner against Fiorentina, his two assists in the come-from-behind in Verona or his stunning display against Sassuolo, the Scudetto trophy could have headed towards the other side of Milano.
Therefore, Leao’s unplayable form at the end of the season settles the score in his favor, so we opted to pick him as the best winger of the 2021/22 Serie A campaign.
Rafael Leao has been named Serie A MVP ? pic.twitter.com/OgNFwwXpMy
— GOAL (@goal) May 22, 2022