The CIES Football Observatory is a research group specializing in the statistical analysis of football within the International Centre for Sports Studies. In issue number 259 of their ‘Weekly Post,’ the organization analyzed defensive air challenges, looking at the percentage of battles won. Firstly, they observed the top 50 ranked players across the top five leagues. Marcelo Guedes (Lyon), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) were the top three having percentages of 85.5%, 83.5%, and 84.1% respectively. Secondly, they observed the highest rated 50 footballers from the 26 other European competitions. The top three players from this category were Christophe Berra (Hearts) at 86.9%, Felipe Augusto (Porto) at 85.5%, and Jake Cooper (Millwall) and 85.5% as well. Below, a list of all the players who made this ‘Weekly Post’ from the Serie A TIM; Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi sits at 47th will a percentage of 72.6%, winning 90 challenges, while losing out on 34.
8) Bruno Alves (Parma); 80.3%
23) Armando Izzo (Torino); 77.1%
31) Federico Fazio (Roma); 74.8%
39) Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina); 73.3%
42) Luca Ceppitelli (Cagliari); 73.1%
46) Danilo (Bologna); 72.9%
47) Acerbi (Lazio); 72.6%
47) German Pezzella (Fiorentina); 72.5%