“Carlos Tevez told me that Italy is like a university for strikers,” Alvaro Morata once said. Indeed Serie A has cultivated a reputation for being the home of defensive excellence over the years.
In Serie A, a crunching slide tackle is met with as much revelry as a tap-in; a clean sheet celebrated in the same breath as three points; muddy shorts held in the same esteem as a hat-trick ball; Catenaccio — or “door-bolt”, a tactical system pioneered in Italy with an emphasis on defensive discipline — respected over any form of tiki-taka. In Argentina, Lionel Messi is the poster boy. In Italy, it’s Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But it is an Argentinian currently leading the way for tackles in Serie A this season, with the Bologna midfielder making 43 so far this season, two clear of Petar Stojanovic. There is then a huge gap to third-placed Rodrigo Becao who has made 30 tackles so far this season, and things get a lot closer.
Perhaps a surprise name to some in the top 10 is Felipe Anderson, who has made 29 tackles so far this season, to go with his lead at the top of the take-ons table.
You can keep track of the top 10 tacklers below as the Serie A campaign progresses.
Most tackles Serie A 2021/22 season: Latest standings
Players with the same amount of goals are ranked by fewer minutes played. Stats correct as of 12:30, 08/11/21.
| Position | Player | Tackles | Minutes Played |
| 1st | Nicolás Domínguez | 43 | 994 |
| 2nd | Petar Stojanovic | 41 | 896 |
| 3rd | Rodrigo Becão | 30 | 1,080 |
| 4th | Felipe Anderson | 29 | 1,022 |
| 5th | Nicolas Haas | 27 | 747 |
| 6th | Domenico Criscito | 27 | 1,053 |
| 7th | Pawel Dawidowicz | 26 | 825 |
| 8th | Marco Faraoni | 26 | 915 |
| 9th | Nahitan Nández | 26 | 917 |
| 10th | Gianluca Busio | 25 | 927 |