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| | Tuesday 8 April, 2008 | | Blog: Trendy lefties and flighty righties | | As we approach the end of the season, James Horncastle looks at which players have stood out - and discovers that it's been a year for full-backs |  |  | | In six day's time Italian's will take to the polls and vote-in a new government. Whipped up by the election fever, I decided to put a few candidates up for Player of the Season and discovered, as in politics, many could be found on the left and right wing.
There once was a time when left and right backs were treated with derision. Jokes were made at the expense of players stuck so far away from the action that they were practically in the dressing room. Roberto Carlos' arrival at Inter in 1995 heralded not so much a new dawn, but an evolution of the attacking full-back.
Scared in the way of progress, the Nerazzurri's boss at the time, Roy Hodgson, quickly discarded a left-back who went on to win three Champions Leagues and a World Cup in favour of a man who would later become a bit-part player at Everton and Newcastle United, Alessandro Pistone. No wonder Roy spent so much time hiding in Scandinavia.
Inter are a case in point. Their success in Serie A over the last two years has been as much down to Douglas Maicon - named after Michael Douglas, his dad's favourite actor - and Maxwell as it has to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Cruz. The Nerazzurri have always had problems on the left since Andreas Brehme left in 1992 and Roberto Carlos departed for Real Madrid in 1996. Replacements from Ze Maria to Giuseppe Favalli and even Fabio Grosso simply didn't make Inter tick. The current Brazilian pair push and probe with a skill and athleticism for years incognito at San Siro.
But perhaps Serie A's most exciting talent this season has been Catania's trendy lefty Juan Manuel Vargas. Peru's latest export - who is far more palatable than guinea pigs and more penetrative than Nobby Solano - merits a big move and a bigger stage to showcase his skills. His intelligent running and fiery shooting at Napoli on Sunday made the Partenopei, wearing white, look like ghosts, helpless and spent in his wake.
Vargas is not the only one either. Genoa's Abdoulay Konko, who has played on the left, right, in central defence, midfield and even in the hole, has attracted plaudits for his marauding runs and smart link-up play. In Rome Max Tonetto has been electric down the line at the tender age of 34, earning himself an overdue Italy cap while neighbours Lazio boast some of Europe's best wide-men in Valon Behrami, Aleksandar Kolarov and, my pick for the future, Daniel Radu.
Regardless of your feelings about politics in Italy and around the world it is clear that, in football, both the left and the right wing are incredibly progressive and have over the last 10 years revived, if not reformed, calcio.
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Christian Maggio at Sampdoria is well worth a mention too. He's looked increasingly confident and influential as the season as gone on, providing the perfect balance in Samp's 3-5-2. He lacks a bit of composure in front of goal at times, but has still made many valuable contributions and is rightly being touted as their player of the season. Without him there's no way Sampdoria would be challenging the top four.
Phil Reeks, Kent
Very nice article on the full-backs that are standing out this year, but you forgot two important names: Andrea Dossena of Udinese, who has been a revelation, and Christian Maggio of Sampdoria, who is having an excellent season!
Francesco |
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