Good defenders do tackle, but great ones are already in the position to make an interception. Paolo Maldini said these things after he had the world at his feet and won every prize he was ever eligible for.

One of the sport’s all-time best defensive players has walked through his years of expertise. It’s although crazy to think that his influence on Italy’s defenders can make such a difference.

While Giorgio Scalvini was born months after countryman Maldini won the Champions League with Manchester United, he elevates tackling to fine art and proves that there is always an exception to every rule.

This tactical analysis presented as a scout report will delve into Scalvini’s style of play under Atalanta’s tactics and also what data says about him. This analysis will also examine his potential options to move out as the speculations circle.

Player profile

Elegant and technically sound with a dominant right foot, Giorgio Scalvini checks off most of the criteria necessary to thrive as a modern-day central defender.

His sideways, extending lunges appear almost scripted, and he’s over two metres tall. His game awareness in general is superb, and seeing his lanky dashes forward in a back-three structure is entertaining.

He is a capable defender who can read the play and intercept incoming passes, as well as hold his own in physical battles. His sideways, extending lunges appear almost scripted, and he’s over two metres tall and has played for Italy at every level, including senior level.

Coming to his on-the-ball ability he does very well for a teenager who is too Italian, given the youth system of Italy being old-fashioned.

His passing is solid as well; he enjoys going for Maguire-style runs, and when he recovers, it’s as if he activates gadget legs. The legendary Atalanta has accomplished another feat.

His game awareness is superb, and seeing his lanky dashes forward in a back-three structure is entertaining. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to a four-at-the-back system in the future if he had to.

We see Scalvini’s touch map in the accompanying image in all of his major tournaments in his breakthrough season. As we take in the picture, he’s a left-sided centre-back with a dominant right foot and that’s some combination.

His attacking-mindedness allows him to skilfully pass the tests for the negative advantage of his weak foot on the left side of the pitch.

To conclude the topic, we’ll see how Scalvini rose through the ranks in the midst of young blood taking over the world.

He came up through Atalanta’s youth system before making his way to the first team just last year. Since he first appeared at this level in October 2021, he has played almost 40 games for them.

He has also played for the national team at every level from the under-15 to the senior. He’s a central defender who can also play in the defensive midfield.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the player’s stats, in-game screenshots, and more to learn more about him.

Defensive attributes & On the ball ability

In this topic, we will look at how good he’s on the ball and how good he can be while the team’s defending. Looking at his defensive specs, his aggression topples all other things.

Next in line is his heightened state of awareness as he attempts to out-react his guy. The manager is content in part because he is aware of the need of being alert at all times.

Scalvini’s vigilance was crucial in helping the Bianconeri restrict in-form World Cup champion, Ángel Di María. Di María may have fooled the kid on occasion, but Scalvini showed him his true colours.

In the best possible scenario, he follows his marker into empty space and stays there until he has the ball, at which point he switches to marking him from behind.

The ideal course of action, upon seeing such an open area and the kind of player heading into it, was to mark him tightly as your teammates pressed. Indeed, he did just that.

He spends a lot of time on the pitch duking it out, which is great news for his coach. The more he challenges others to fight, the more his management will want to put him in situations where he can show off his physical prowess.

Now, with Lazio, he watches as his team presses and immediately responds when he sees his guy making a move to receive the ball.

There seems to be a two-arm length difference between the players, yet when the marker made his initial contact, Scalvini was just a centimetre away. When his marker has possession of the ball, he makes sure to provide pressure.

The first contact is the single most important factor in setting the stage for upcoming events. Just like that, Scalvini dealt with the Lazio winger.

The whole Atalanta defence collapsed during their Coppa Italia match against Internazionale, leaving Scalvini to play fruit or death against World Cup champion Lautaro Martínez.

This frame was intentionally frozen to show how Scalvini intends to counter the oncoming danger. If he’s serious about it, he understands it’s a target. Hence, he takes care to maintain an appropriate distance from his man.

The important thing is that he abandons his man to protect the weaker side (the left) while he goes to the stronger side (the right). Now Lautaro’s only option is to face his opponent head-on. But, Scalvini is already on Lautaro and he steals the ball as he attempts to go right on a fake left.

Scalvini’s best-attacking figures increased when he was forced to play the entire 90 minutes against Alessio Dionisi’s Sassuolo. With three out of four dribbles being successful, his success rate was 75%.

Down low, he wins the ball on the edge of his box and immediately spots an opening to advance. As can be seen in the image below, he gains incredible speed with the ball in an instant.

His deft footwork helped him last long until he was fouled by one of Dionisi’s players, awarding a yellow card.

In about 8 seconds, Scalvini could move over 70 yards and break Sassuolo’s defence. In the nick of time, he decided to go around the outside of the block and find a way through.

Scalvini’s rise through Atalanta’s academy was like something out of a storybook until he began playing for extended stretches against the more experienced competition. He displayed some of his support play against Milan.

Just before the above picture was snapped, Scalvini deftly pretended to take a touch when Brahim Díaz was on his neck. Scalvini got rid of Díaz simply by not taking a touch but leaving it.  Because of his natural instincts, he can freely move around the pitch.

The winger then has space to both keep possession of the ball and stretch Milan’s defence thanks to his overlapping move.

The characteristics he exhibits are ambitious for a young man of his stature. Subsequently, we’ll take a look at the evidence that could provide which might back up this claim.

What does data say?

Scalvini sits in 11th place for the most defensive duels faced per 90 in Serie A with 9.78 to his name. This is an astounding number for a 19-year-old which shows how much trust he has gained from the manager.

He is now a big fan of the teenager letting out full of positive comments about the Maldini-like defender.

From the 85 minutes that he played against the reigning champions Milan away from home, his best defensive performance came.

He had 82% of defensive duels won in the game with nine duels winning from a total of 11. That was fascinating for a youngster trying to get a spot in the starting eleven.

The above graphic tells us how many defensive actions the youngster has engaged in and how many were fouls and interceptions. Although we see more fouls being made, that is true. His untimely tackles are the only negative point.

As we know how Scalvini uses his aggression, here are some numbers on his high regains, counter-pressing recoveries and dangerous recoveries.

In all competitions this year, he has made 14 high regains which is very high as visible in the above graphic. His counter-pressing numbers stand up to 21 with dangerous ones amounting to just six.

His best performance also came in the Coppa Italia against Spezia when Atalanta thrashed them scoring five goals, three more than the opposition.

He won six out of six duels which is a 100% success rate in the 58 minutes that he played in Italy’s most prestigious competition.

The below graphic illustrates the frequency of penetrating carries by the defender. 26 carries into the box is a very good figure for a ball-playing centre-back.

Whenever Atalanta outscored their opponents, Scalvini was their top and solid performer despite being on and off in the starting eleven.

Regardless of how many carries have been into the box, the penetrating carries around the pitch massively help Atalanta in their build-up.

The above graphic tells about his passing range and the direction he prefers to pass it out. While building up, progressive passes allow everyone to advance and not get stuck.

His ability to find teammates who generally position higher than him, helps his manager decide quickly as Scalvini outshines all of his teammates when it comes to on-the-ball ability.

Probable future destination

As the boys reach a certain age, they all want to join a more prestigious club. Naturally, the player’s performance must be flawless.

It’s remarkable to watch how far a 19-year-old can travel, both with and without the ball. Despite having concerns cast upon him and having setbacks in recent years, he has pleased Gian Piero Gasperini and his team throughout the season.

Who could try to recruit the young Italian defender is an exciting subject now. Most teams have specialized scouts seeking players who share the club’s values.

Even though there are many other leagues in Europe, the Premier League is where the major money is spent on players and where the next generation of players can test themselves against the best.

All youngsters want they could play for one of the “big six” clubs but considering a few factors at the moment on how much the team needs a defender is to be talked about.

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal currently play with a back four and it filters Scalvini from joining them. Regardless of the fact, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães have well-settled as the future centre-back duo for the Gunners.

Considering how badly Scalvini would want play time as the first and foremost factor, Arsenal would be out of the choice.

Manchester United, after the influx of Real Madrid legends Raphaël Varane and Casemiro, has been quite solid except for the game at Anfield. And the Dutchman now seeks to strengthen the midfield with rumours around.

Pep’s City has put their trust in Manuel Akanji for the time being who came in last year and has a loaded defence including World Cup stars like Nathan Aké, Aymeric Laporte, and Rúben Dias.

Liverpool is one of the suspects to sincerely scout Scalvini knowing that Joel Matip would be out of the squad shortly.

Jürgen Klopp now has Ibrahima Konaté under his belt who’s growing a healthy relationship with the main man Virgil van Dijk. If ever Konaté is to get injured given that Liverpool heavily suffering from injuries, Scalvini should be the wisest choice to go to as his price tag is feasible.

Coming to Graham Potter’s Chelsea, I’m not even going to step in as they are already an overloaded squad with team chemistry missing in the puzzle.

This now leaves out only Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur who have comfortably signed former Serie A talents like Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Dejan Kulusevski in the past years.

They have all well flourished under Spurs’ system after Conte’s arrival. Seems like Tottenham has won the jackpot in recent years, both in terms of drafting and signing talented young players and in terms of signing veteran Italian players.

Spurs are in a good position to do the right things given that they are in fourth place, only two points behind Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United thanks to the positive direction the squad is headed in under Antonio Conte.

This is a hopeful time for the north London club as they were able to get Pedro Porro from Sporting despite Pep Guardiola’s public admiration of the player.

Scalvini can defend quite far from his position, even into the opponent’s half, thanks to Atalanta’s defensive tenacity and the performance of the outside centre-backs.

His ability to both drive and swiftly escape after a theft is one of his most notable ball-handling skills. It doesn’t matter if he’s right-footed; he always attempts to advance the ball and moves off the line to assist the midfield to move the ball from the left side.

Scalvini utilises this method of advancement based on Atalanta’s tremendous personality to be a leader since he is as distinctive as Atalanta is in his game.

Spurs’ three-centre-back formation places a premium on the central defenders’ ability to clear a path for the team’s forwards. Centre-backs, to attract pressure and play with teammates in front of them, need to be sharp thinkers who are fast off the ball.

As Ben Davies and Eric Dier will soon be unable to improve upon their current performance, Scalvini presents a compelling alternative.

All the graphics on this topic shows how Scalvini compares with all three of the main centre-backs for Spurs, Cristian Romero, Clement Lenglet and Eric Dier.

Conclusion

Leaving out his gambling at times, his defensive actions give him more control over the team. And his offensive abilities are no doubt that he’s going to be one of the best ball-playing defenders to break through in the coming years.

Scalvini has everything to learn from his colleagues and experiences that he’s now cultivating under Gasperini and Atalanta.

The Italian defender would thrive under Conte’s system at Tottenham, making the club a top choice for his next stop. The Italian can only hold on to hope since Spurs are the only club in the big six to have three central defenders.