Pirlo and the Top 10 Centre Midfielders in Serie A

Centre midfield, or centrocampista, is the single most important position in Italian football.

Over the last decade, Serie A teams have adopted the diamond 4-4-2 formation but in recent months the craze of the 3-5-2 formation has swept the peninsula.

Either way, the side with the best collection of three centre midfielders will often assume the initiative in the match.

Before revealing my list, the criteria should be explained.

Players who would be classified as trequartistas, or attacking midfielders, such as Francesco Totti or Wesley Sneijder, should not be considered.

Here are my top 10 centre midfielder in Serie A.

10. Marco Rigoni, Novara

Marco Rigoni is making up for lost time with Novara this season.

The newly promoted club from Piedmont are struggling to stay up but Rigoni's form will give them a chance.

The former Juventus player has not played in Serie A since the 1998/99 season, but has hit the ground this year.

Rigoni has scored six goals and six assists in 17 appearances for the Biancoazzurri.

Rigoni has been part of an amazing journey over the last three seasons in Novara.

He played in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, the third tier of Italian football, before winning promotion to Serie B, where they won promotion immediately last season to Serie A.

It is refreshing to see a 32-year-old make an impact at this level without any significant experience.

Long may it continue.

9. Kwadwo Asamoah, Udinese

Kwadwo Asamoah has an amazing future ahead of him.

The 23-year-old Ghanian is already among the best midfielders in Serie A and surely destined for a big transfer soon.

Now in his fourth season with the Zebrette, he is flourishing as the side's main enforcer.

He covers a remarkable amount of ground to break up play before driving his team to a counter attack like his compatriot Michael Essien.

8. Radja Nainggolan, Cagliari

Radja Nainggolan has been single-handedly keeping Cagliari afloat throughout this season with a string of all-action performances.

The Belgian box-to-box midfielder loves a tackle and is capable of setting the tone for his teammates from the first minute.

The 23-year-old works tirelessly to break up the opponent's attacks before driving the Isolani forward.

7. Mauricio Isla, Udinese

Mauricio Isla has made a transformation this season, from a right midfielder, to a centre midfielder.

The Chilean has completed it seamlessly and is now influencing Udinese's matches on a more regular basis.

The 23-year-old has 31 Buin native caps for Chile.

Isla needs to add more goals to his game to become one of the game's best players, which is certainly within the realms of possibility.

He links with Antonio Di Natale in and around the penalty area wonderfully, but is rarely selfish enough to shoot himself when the opportunity presents itself.

Isla is a terrific player to watch and yet another gem that Udinese plucked from South America (Universidad Catolica) from a young age. He'll will eventually sell on for a huge profit.

6. Walter Gargano, Napoli

Walter Gargano is fast becoming one of Europe's best defensive midfielders.

The Uruguayan has tremendous stamina and athleticism to be able to screen Napoli's back three and provide the perfect platform for the Partenopei's array of attacking talent to prosper.

The 27-year-old has made himself an integral part of Walter Mazzarri's team that has been so impressive in the Champions League.

Two signature performances came against Manchester City in the Champions League as Gargano won the midfield battle before quickly distributing the ball to set up devastating counterattacks.

5. Antonio Nocerino, AC Milan

Antonio Nocerino has been the signing of the season.

Maurizio Zamparini made a massive blunder by relinquishing the player to the Rossoneri for €500,000.

The 26-year-old is having a break-out season as he is providing tremendous work rate and athleticism to the Rossoneri midfield that was lacking this last season.

Nocerino has also added goals to his game with a personal best of six this season in 17 appearances.

Cesare Prandelli has taken notice and he will surely feature prominently for the Azzurri.

4. Claudio Marchisio, Juventus

Claudio Marchisio is another player who has taken his game to a new level this season.

The Bianconeri player has been much more influential under Antonio Conte in a central role than when he was playing under Luigi Delneri in a left midfield role.

Marchisio has six goals in 15 games, several of which, have been game winners.

He is able to influence the game from deep and maintain possession with Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal.

3. Daniele De Rossi, Roma

Daniele De Rossi is Roma's gladiator who does all the hard so that the likes of Francesco Totti can flourish in the final third of the pitch.

De Rossi will be one of football's most wanted men when his contract expires in the summer.

He has a tremendous engine and is able to kick-start Roma's attacks while also nullifying the opposition's danger men with excellent marking.

2. Gokhan Inler, Napoli

Gokhan Inler is one of the signings of the season.

He was not cheap but Napoli will be pleased to have acquired the Swiss midfielder for €13 million from Udinese last summer.

The Swiss international has transformed the Partenopei by dominating the midfield and setting up their attacks with sublime distribution.

The 27-year-old can also make tough tackle and work tirelessly for the team.

Inler is basically the perfect player to build a team around.

1. Andrea Pirlo, Juventus

Andrea Pirlo has proved to Milan that he was certainly worth appeasing with an extra year on the contract he desired.

The Bianconeri were all too happy to step in and prize away one of the most majestic players to ever grace Serie A.

Pirlo has influenced Juve so much that they are in the running to win their first Scudetto since Calciopoli.

His passing is a pleasure to watch as always as Pirlo operates in a quarterback role.

This season, he has added, or re-found, a change of direction, just like a quarter back moving up in the pocket.

With Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio able to cover him positionally, this move has given Pirlo license to roam forward if the opportunity presents itself.

By operating closer to the opposition's penalty area, Pirlo has already handed out some assists that were compared to the basketball legend Magic Johnson.

In essence, his assists have been lauded as more important than the actual goal.

We should not have expected anything else from this truly great player.

Follow me on Twitter @jackalexandros or @FRcalcioJack.