The stats behind Silvera's sensational twelve months

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Samuel Silvera has enjoyed a thrilling last twelve months.

A sensational season with the Central Coast Mariners led to him clinching the A-League Men Championship, where he registered a fantastic goal and aesthetic assist to help his side clinch the trophy. 
 

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Subsequently, he found himself breaking the Mariners' club record transfer fee, joining Championship powerhouse Middlesbrough under the tutelage of Manchester United legend Michael Carrick. 

 

And finally, Silvera received his maiden Socceroos call-up, linking up with the squad this week for a friendly against Mexico on Sunday, where the 22-year-old could receive his first minutes in the Green and Gold.

 

 

Silvera will bring a spark and glistening to an already quality forward line, with his silky, effortless look on the ball pleasing to all who view the winger’s game.

 

He is balanced and poised with possession, able to receive the ball in tight spaces and retain the ball through clever use of his body and swift, technical touches.

 

But it isn’t all for show - the winger has been highly effective in his ability to move the ball forward and create chances - for teammates or himself - for his team. 

This season with Middlesborough, he’s provided two assists in five matches (four starts), while last season at the Mariners his goal and assist ratio of 0.55 per 90 saw him average a goal involvement every two matches.

 

Silvera’s technical ability is matched by his vision for the game - particularly how he looks to exploit space ahead of him through thoughtful drives forward. 

 

His goal in the Grand Final presented this perfectly, as he utilised his pace advantage on Nuno Reis cleverly placing his body to step ahead of the defender, before elegantly continuing his drive towards goal and finishing with aplomb. 

 

Ben Griffis


Silvera ranks above the 80th percentile (for wingers to have played over 900 minutes) for both progressive carries and acceleration with the ball, but still maintains a roughly 80th percentile mark for his dribbling success percentage, according to data from Ben Griffis' 'Soccer Prospect Research & Radar Creation'.

 

This means that despite being highly productive in dribbling the ball forward, Silvera remains measured in his bursts, exemplifying his perception of his and other opponents’ ability and his technical capability in possession. 

 

He is also a fruitful passer, capable of striking lightning one-twos around the edge of the area and finding intricate passes in behind through - again - manipulating his body to disguise his final decision. 

 

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Last season in the A-League Men, Silvera created six big chances (16th in the league) and 35 chances overall (13th in the league).

His decisive nature extends more-so to shooting, where he ranked in roughly the 80th percentile for non-penalty goals in the league last campaign when compared to fellow wingers.  

He had the 15th most shots in the league (47), and is clinical when finding the target, with a 0.40 ratio for goals when shooting within the frame of the goal, again demonstrating his strong sense for decision-making.  

Silvera has a range of finishes in his locker, able to tuck shots away into the far corner or power them in from range.

But beyond his ability to finish chances, it’s his overall vision for the game and his decision-making and body positioning, in conjunction with his immense technical ability, that makes Silvera such a valuable asset for the Socceroos.   

International Friendly

Mexico vs Australia   
Date: Sunday, 10 September 2023   
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas   
Time: 12:00pm AEST, (9:00pm Saturday, 9 September local time)   
Broadcast: Live on Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+

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