Ranking the 10 Most Impressive Serie A Players Heading into International Break
With the Serie A having gotten underway, many players have shone either surprisingly or have kept their level of excellence at the expected level.
The ranking here has to do with the player performance so far as well as their team's position in the table, and is listed in an order from tenth to first.
Here is a list of the 10 most impressive players so far this season in Serie A heading into the international break.
10. Orestis Karnezis (Udinese)
1 of 10
Greek international goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis has been a one man saving machine in between the pipes and is a major reason why Udinese is fourth in the table, having only lost one match so far this season.
Karnezis played on loan at Granada last season, where he impressed with his fantastic reflex saves. Now that he's doing so well at Udinese, one has to wonder when teenage goalkeeping sensation Simone Scuffet will get his time to continue improving.
As it stands, Karnezis has been the most impressive goalkeeper in Serie A this campaign.
9. Daniele Rugani (Empoli)
2 of 10
It's not often that an Empoli player makes a list of this nature, but young central defender Daniele Rugani has really made an impact in his first season in Serie A.
The Juventus owned 20-year-old has showed anticipation and defensive stoutness far beyond his years, particularly impressing in the match against Milan.
He has even garnered the attention of Antonio Conte, who gave him his first call up to the Italian national team's senior side, an incredible achievement for a fantastic defender in the making.
8. Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
3 of 10
Eternal Udinese captain Antonio Di Natale keeps chugging along at the tender age of 36. After considering retirement last season, he decided to keep going and is showing everyone that he still has plenty left in the tank.
The diminutive attacker has scored four goals so far this campaign, but has been a focal point of Andrea Stramaccioni's new technical Udinese attack, which has seen Di Natale combining very well with the likes of Cyril Thereau and Luis Muriel.
At this rate, Di Natale will see his goal tally approach the double digits for the ninth straight season, despite being at an age where most players have fallen off the map completely.
7. Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)
4 of 10
Claudio Marchisio played every game for Juventus with Andrea Pirlo out due to injury and was an integral part of the midfield that barely gave any worries to the defense.
As a matter of fact, Massimiliano Allegri's Juve set a record, winning their first five matches in Serie A with five clean sheets.
Characteristically, Marchisio is a much different player than Pirlo, but it allowed Allegri to really use his five athletic midfielders in the 3-5-2 to choke the opponent in their own half with diabolical pressure.
6. Gianluigi Buffon
5 of 10
Even though he isn't tested as much during the course of a game as other keepers in Serie A, Gianluigi Buffon still has to be ready the few times he is called upon, and he never lets his team down.
Buffon was part of another record setting Juventus side this season that kept five clean sheets in a row in Serie A and has won every single domestic outing so far.
With Buffon, Juventus have a guarantee of a few added points per season just because of his incredible reflex saves.
5. Gervinho (Roma)
6 of 10
After spending a few uninspiring seasons with Arsenal, Gervinho was reunited with his old Lille coach Rudi Garcia last season and has turned out to be a great bargain buy for Roma owner James Pallotta.
The Ivorian international has continued terrorizing defensive units with his searing pace and quick, technical dribbling. Along with the burning speed, Gervinho has been involved in scoring as well as setting up teammates.
Most recently, he played in a fantastic through ball to find Juan Iturbe in space against Juventus. Iturbe just needed to slot it past Buffon to give Roma another goal.
4. Radja Nainggolan
7 of 10
In the midfield, Radja Nainggolan does the work of three.
It doesn't help opponents either than he has a giant chip on his shoulder after being inexplicably left off the Belgian national team roster at the World Cup.
With his perfectly coiffed mohawk in place, Nainggolan has been an engine in Rudi Garcia's midfield. But don't let this pitbull fool you, he's also very adept in possession and likes making runs into the box and always picks out the simple, clever pass.
3. Keisuke Honda (Milan)
8 of 10
After an anonymous half season last year, Keisuke Honda is really growing into his makeshift role as a right winger in Milan's system.
The past two coaches at the Rossoneri have insisted on using the playmaker as a winger, and he's had to adapt and make the best of his new tactical position.
So far, Honda has scored four goals this season, each of them different. A header, a blast from outside the box, a fantastic set piece and a clever dink have seen him finally become a valuable addition to Filippo Inzaghi's starting XI.
2. Kostas Manolas (Roma)
9 of 10
Set aside that one silly red card against Juventus which will cost the Greek defender the next two rounds due to suspension, Manolas has been the finest center back in Italy since Roma signed him to replace Mehdi Benatia.
The ex-Olympiakos man is still only 23-years-old and has shown great pace to get back on defense, as well as perfect anticipation and timing of his tackles.
Manolas is very aggressive, always going for the lunge and usually timing it very well. As it stands, he's the best value coming out of the summer transfer window in Serie A.
1. Carlos Tevez (Juventus)
10 of 10
Not only did Carlos Tevez finally break his Champions League scoring dry spell by netting two against Malmo, but he has scored six times in the first six matches of the new campaign, an impressive tally even by his usually prolific standards.
Apart from scoring, Tevez has constantly demonstrated the work rate and high pressure ability that often stifles the opposing defense in their own half, leading to dangerous turnovers.
With Fernando Llorente out of form, Tevez has carried the Bianconeri up front and is the main reason why they're first in the Serie A standings.
