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The Journey so far
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Milan Skriniar has found himself in the spotlight lately after a great season at Sampdoria last season earnt him a summer move to Inter Milan. At San Siro, Skriniar has instantly become an integral member of Luciano Spalletti’s defence. Skriniar’s positional intelligence, reading of the game, individual defending and progressive passing has seen him solidify his place on the right side of a back four. He has become an integral part of Inter’s spine, and has allowed the pursuit of champion’s league football next season to become a reality. Here we take a look at the Slovakian centre-back and analyse his style of play.
Skriniar initially came to Italy through Sampdoria in January 2016 from Zilina. He had joined Zilina’s youth setup at 12, and made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2012. After four seasons in the Slovakian top flight, Skriniar had earned his move to Sampdoria, where he made three appearances in the second half of the 2015-16 season. The arrival of Marco Giampaolo as head coach resulted in large scale redevelopment of the young defender, with a much larger focus being placed on playing out from the back. Skriniar grew in confidence during the season under Giampaolo, and by the end of the season had developed into one of Serie A’s better centre-backs. In total, Skriniar made 35 appearances in Serie A last season, making him the youngest defender in Italy to do so.
During 2017, he also became a regular starter in his national team: in fact, he has featured in five of Slovakia’s last six games in the World Cup’s qualification stage. Slovakia finished second in its group but did not take part in the playoffs.
Concentration and Intelligence
The intelligence of Milan Skriniar is what has set him apart from most young centre backs in Europe. The 23-year-old reads the game very well, which sees him deal with most situations without necessarily needing or using sheer pace and aggression. Constantly adjusting his position in relation to the ball and his teammates, combined with his incredible flexibility allowing outstretched interceptions, his defensive game is based on concentration and being a step ahead of his opponents. Despite lacking a typical defenders ability to leap into the air, Skriniar has scored 3 goals this season with his head, showing that he focuses more on where he in the box – outthinking and outplaying the opponent rather than out-jumping.
Here is a video highlighting Milan’s excellent reading of the game.
Ball playing defender
This season for Inter, Skriniar has been very important in playing out from the back. He is very accurate in short and easy passes, but also is capable of breaking multiple lines with fast laser-passes. The young Slovakian completes the most passes (after Borja Valero) per 90 minutes (61.1) and has the highest pass accuracy (91.5%).
Skriniar is always actively seeking his next pass, and noticeably the youngster seems to lack confidence in playing balls in the air – as he plays the huge majority along the ground.
Here’s a video from by FMG again showcasing highlighting his passing.
Positional Defending
Inter Milan have consistently played a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Skriniar playing most the games as the right centre back – the position where he seems to play most comfortably and naturally.
No matter what ball is being played, a good position is always the foundation for any defender, and is crucial for interceptions and preventing hold-up play. The prodigy’s positional sense is therefore extremely valuable in the way he defends the penalty area. When an attacking ball faces the inter Milan defence, Skriniar makes sure its dealt with as soon as possible – and often chooses to ‘hoof’ the ball to avoid the risk of error. This is something that is never good in the long term though, as the team may be looking to instigate a counter-attack and therefore is something that the youngster should seek to develop.
Here’s a short clip illustrating his defending of the box.
Skriniar lacks the ability to play consistently good passes or intercept with his left foot. In-game, he plays almost all balls with his right. This can pose a problem when facing tricky players who switch sides often, and will require work to balance out. On top of this, the young Slovakian is not very fast, and when he does make a mistake he is often unable to recover the ball because he cannot keep up with the forward.
Overall Skriniar is already a great defender, and one that is very comfortable on the ball or when put in pressing situations. As he gains more experience at Inter, and potentially other clubs in the future, it is clear to see that Skriniar is a talent worth fighting for.
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