Scouting Serie A’s Evergreen Midfielders: Why Over 30s Are Still Key Players – Data Analysis

So far in the 2024/25 Serie A campaign, a number of standout players, particularly younger players, have been linked with a move to a ‘bigger’ club.

But what about the older, more experienced players who are still delivering quality performances on a consistent basis?

These days, there is so much focus on the up-and-coming players—and this is understandable—but, at times, it comes at the expense of considering the older player.

This data analysis article looks to rectify that.

In this analysis, we’re looking for central midfielders in Serie A who are 30 years old or older and still important first-team figures for their respective clubs.

Criteria & Player Overview

The criteria for this data analysis were kept fairly open and straightforward – we ran a search on Wyscout for Serie A central midfielders who are currently 30+ years old, with a minimum of 500 league minutes under their belt this season.

To be able to highlight and discuss a range of central midfielders, this analysis includes any role that falls under the central midfield banner – sixes, eights, and tens (some players can/have played in other positions, but all players involved have their main position as one of the central midfield roles).

The search resulted in a list of 16 midfielders, as seen in the graph below.

This graph shows the 16 midfielders and gives an overall understanding of their defensive and attacking contributions so far this season.

Regarding attacking actions, Pedro (4.06 successful attacking contributions per 90 for Lazio) and Paulo Dybala (4.1 successful attacking contributions per 90 for AS Roma) are two players to instantly be on the lookout for throughout the rest of this analysis.