Starting this week Serie A Weekly readers will be able to choose their own Team of the Year, voting for players nominated by the writing and editing team. The team will line up 4-3-1-2, the most common used formation in Serie A in recent times. First up for your selection is the  Goalkeeper. Read on, leave a comment and remember to vote.

Morgan De Sanctis - Napoli (Nominated by Paolo Mancini)

Its an old adage that goalkeepers only get better with age and its certainly the case with Morgan De Sanctis, the 34 year old shot stopper has been sensational this season, continuing the form that gave him a berth in the Italy World Cup squad for 2010. He may have lost his place in the National squad but he hasn’t any of his ability. De Sanctis has kept 13 clean sheets in the league (at time of writing) and also went three months at Stadio San Paolo without conceding a goal in Serie A, this with a defence that has included Gianluca Grava, Emilson Cribari and Salvatore Aronica at times. He has been a commanding figure and brings much needed stability to what has been, in seasons past, a porous back three.

Samir Handanovic - Udinese (Nominated by Qasá Alom)

A newcomer reading about Serie A would be excused for believing that the Friulian fairytale is largely down to Antonio di Natale, Alexis Sanchez and nine other men. That simply hasn’t been the case though, as Udinese have been replete with herculean performances all over the pitch, and Samir Handanovic between the sticks has been no exception. The Slovenian international had a fantastic World Cup in South Africa, ending up in the Guardian’s World Cup best XI and the 25 year old has continued that form all throughout this domestic season to raise plenty of eyebrows all across Europe. At one stage this season, the tall commanding keeper went over 500 minutes without conceding a goal and has kept 13 clean sheets without which, Udinese would not be in the position they are in.

The biggest example of this would be last weekend, when Udinese managed to come away from the Stadio San Paolo with a 2-1 victory without both their star strikers. Indeed the crucial point in this game was perhaps Handanovic’s penalty save – his fifth of this season – against the in form striker Edinson Cavani two minutes from time! Performances of this calibre not only satisfy the need for a solid and stable presence in goal, but also demonstrate that Handanovic is a genuine match-winner with the necessary bottle to take responsibility when the side needs him most. Other goalkeepers are arguably more consistent, but few in world football have been as charismatic or talismanic.

Christian Abbiati - Milan (Nominated by Scot Munroe)

Christian Abbiati has been one of the best keepers in the league this season and at 33 it shows that age doesn’t matter.  Abbiati has pulled of some brilliant saves including saves against Brescia and Inter Milan. These saves have kept Milan at the top of the table and will claim their first Scuddetto in seven years in the next two weeks. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even Kevin-Prince Boateng receive the plaudits it is the Milan defence which has been the deciding factor, allowing just 23 goals in the 34 games so far, and five of those came in the two games the veteran missed.

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