U23 Players With the Most Interceptions - So Far

 

Image from Worldfootball.net

Across all fluid team sports, there are few defensive actions more game changing than the interception. In this piece we will quickly look at the top 5 players, when it comes to interceptions, across Europe's top 6 leagues, so far this season (2021/2022). 

*Data from Whoscored.com)* 

Serie A (Italy): 

1. Ivan Ilic - CM - 20 - Verona - Serbia - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

2. Kelvin Amian - RB - 23 - Spezia - France/Ivory Coast - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

3. Matias Vina - LB - 23 - Roma - Brazil - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

 4. Nikola Milenkovic - CB - Fiorentina - Serbia - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

5. Fikayo Tomori - CB - AC Milan - England/Canada - 1.8 interceptions per 90 

Premier League (England): 

1. Luke Thomas - LB - 20 - Leicester City - England - 3.2 interceptions per 90 

2. Declan Rice - DM - 22 - West Ham - England - 2.2 interceptions per 90 

3. Brandon Williams - RB - 21 - Norwich City - England - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

4. Mohammed Salisu - CB - 22 - Southampton - Ghana - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

5. Tyrick Mitchell - LB - 22 - Crystal Palace - England - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

La Liga (Spain): 

 1. Fran Garcia - LB - 22 - Rayo Vallecano - Spain - 2.3 interceptions per 90 

2. Jules Kounde - CB - 22 - Sevilla - France - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

3. Eder Militao - CB - 23 - Real Madrid - Brazil - 1.8 interceptions per 90 

4. Tomas Alarcon - DM - 22 - Cadiz - Chile - 1.8 interceptions per 90 

5. Adria Pedrosa - LB - 23 - Espanyol - Spain - 1.8 interceptions per 90 

Bundesliga (Germany): 

1. Reece Oxford - CB - 22 - Augsburg - England/Jamaica - 3.5 interceptions per 90 

2. Exequiel Palacios - CM - 22 - Bayer Leverkusen - Argentina - 3.3 interceptions per 90 

3. Mohamed Simakan - CB - 21 - Red Bull Leipzig - France - 2.2 interceptions per 90 

4. Konstantinos Mavropanos - CB - Stuttgart - Greece - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

5. Nico Schlotterbeck - CB - 21 - Freiburg - Germany - 1.6 interceptions per 90 

5b. Niklas Dorsch - 23 - DM - 23 - Augsburg - Germany - 1.6 interceptions per 90 

 Liga NOS (Portugal): 

1. Alexandre Penetra - CB - 20 - Famalicao - Portugal - 3.5 interceptions per 90 

2. Pedro Malheiro - RW - 20 - Boavista - Portugal - 2.6 interceptions per 90 

3. Tomas Ribeiro - CB - 22 - Belenenses - Portugal - 2.5 interceptions per 90 

4. Jackson Porozo - CB - 21 - Boavista - Ecuador - 2.3 interceptions per 90 

5. Koffi Kouao - RB - 23 - Vizela - Ivory Coast/Ghana - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

Ligue 1 (France): 

1. Leonardo Balerdi - CB - 22 - Marseille - Argentina/Italy - 2.5 interceptions per 90 

2. Saidou Sow - CB - 19 - Saint-Etienne - Guinea/France - 2.4 interceptions per 90 

3. Cheick Oumar Doucoure - DM - 21 - RC Lens - Mali - 2.3 interceptions per 90 

4. Aurelien Tchouameni - DM - 21 - Monaco - France/Cameroon - 2.2 interceptions per 90 

5. Facundo Medina - CB - 22 - Lens - Argentina - 2.0 interceptions per 90 

Incredibly interesting players across this list, and surely some bright talents for the future. Lets take a look at the differences in the data between each league. 

Highest Total Number of Interceptions Made (per 90 from these 5 players combined): 

1. Bundesliga (Germany) - 14.2 

2. Liga NOS (Portugal) - 12.9 

T-3. Premier League (England) and Ligue (France) - 11.4 

5. Serie A (Italy) - 9.8 

6. La Liga (Spain) - 9.7 

These numbers can bring us to the idea that in terms of footballing culture by nation, the Germans and the Portuguese utilize intercepting more as a form of defending. Whereas in Italy and Spain, it seems as though this is not the case. However looking at the difference between the top player and bottom players on each list; Germany has the biggest difference with 1.9 interceptions per 90. Whereas in Italy the differnece is 0.2, in England 1.2, in Spain 0.5, in Portgual 1.5, and in France 0.5. Looking at all of these numbers the most interesting of the bunch is Ligue 1 (France). 

If we took the: Highest Total Number of Interceptions Made and divided that by the Difference of Interceptions (between the top and bottom players) we would have: 

1. Serie A (Italy) - 49 

2. Ligue 1 (France) - 22.8 

3. La Liga (Spain) - 19.4 

4. Premier League (England) - 9.5 

5. Liga NOS (Portugal) - 8.6 

6. Bundesliga (Germany) - 7.5 

This shows us that while Bundesliga and Liga NOS had the highest totals across the board in their league is not as consistent throughout when it comes to these U23 players. Ligue 1 is the most interesting of the bunch as their position in the table from the Highest Total Interceptions to the HTNoI/DoI is not far off (Tied for 3rd and in 2nd). These numbers tell us that the interceptions are plentiful for these players in Ligue 1 and that the level across the board for these defenders is consistently strong. There has been a large influx of French players moving to top European clubs across Europe over the past few seasons, and these numbers may just be one example of why.