Name: Mattia Di Sciglio
Club: Milan
Nationality: Italian
Position: Full-back
Who is he?
A native of Milan, Di Sciglio joined his home-town club aged 10 in 2002, and quickly progressed up the youth ranks, finally making his first team debut as a substitute in September 2011 against Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic in the Champions League group stages.
He then made his Serie A debut towards the end of last season as Milan just fell short of Juventus in the league.
Meanwhile he also represented Italy at U19, U20 and U21 level.
Achievements
The 2012/13 season has been a real breakthrough for the right-footed full-back. First of all he was given the number 2 shirt by Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri – famously worn by Rossoneri heroes like Cafu and Mauro Tassoti – ahead of the new season.
And he has since established himself in a resurgent - and very young – Milan side, making 25 appearances in all competitions.
And last Thursday he capped off a fine year so far by getting his first Italy cap in an exciting 2 – 2 draw with Brazil. He then set up a goal for Milan team-mate Mario Balotelli in the 2 - 0 win over Malta in World Cup qualifying.
Attributes
One of the 6ft fullback’s greatest strengths is his versatility. Right-footed he normally plays on the right side of a four man defence but he is more than capable of filling in on the left.
Due to his outstanding technical and tactical awareness, he has also been played at centre-half without any drop in standard, while he is also useful in an attacking wing-back role.
For many he would be deserving of a place in Serie A’s Team of the Year for his contributions in 2012/13.
Potential
He has already beaten team-mate and fellow Milan academy graduate Ignazio Abate for the starting right-back slot for club and will soon follow that up for his country.
An accurate crosser of the ball, Di Sciglio has put in 1.5 accurate crosses per game for Milan, which ranks him 11th overall in Serie A – the second highest ranked defender in that category
And from the promise he has shown so far, he will go on to become a mainstay of Italy and Milan’s defence over the next decade.
