Andrea Barzagli

Andrea Barzagli ( born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

A four-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year, Barzagli is regarded as one of the best and most consistent defenders in Italian football history.

In the 1998–99 season, Barzagli made his first professional football appearance with semi-professional Rondinella Calcio before moving to Serie B side A.C. Pistoiese in 2000–01, in a co-ownership deal.

He initially played as a midfielder, before being moved to defence by manager Giuseppe Pillon.

A year later he rejoined Rondinella Calcio in Serie C2.

He then signed for Ascoli for the 2001–02 season (from Piacenza, a Serie A side from 2001 to 2003) and helped them gain promotion to Serie B.

He remained in Ascoli for another year without further success.

After playing for several smaller Italian clubs in the lower divisions of Italian football in his early career, he made his Serie A debut with Chievo in 2003, and eventually came to prominence while playing for Palermo.

In July 2003 he was sold by Piacenza in another co-ownership deal.

He made his Serie A debut with Chievo in a 1–1 draw at Brescia on 31 August 2003.

At international level, he represented the Italy national football team on 73 occasions between 2004 and 2017, taking part at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games where he obtained a bronze medal, at two FIFA World Cups (2006 and 2014), three UEFA European Championships (2008, 2012, and 2016), and at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where himself and the team also won bronze.

On 20 July 2004, Barzagli was signed by Serie A outfit Palermo, helping the club to an UEFA Cup spot during his first season with the club.

He was most notably a member of the Italian 2006 World Cup winning squad, as well as a starting member of the Italian squad that reached the UEFA Euro 2012 final.

He was bestowed with the captain's armband after Eugenio Corini controversially left the Sicilian club in the summer of the 2007–08 season.

In 2008, he was signed by German side VfL Wolfsburg, where he remained for two and a half seasons, winning a Bundesliga title in 2009.

In 2008, Barzagli was in contract negotiations with Fiorentina and was widely expected to sign.

To everyone's surprise the deal fell through as Barzagli, a native Florentine, had already stated his eagerness to join.

Barzagli's agent spoke to media saying: "The difference between what we were asking and what they offered was minimal – it amounted to £100,000. Andrea was willing to give up a lot of money to play for Fiorentina, but they didn’t take our requests into consideration".

Instead Barzagli choose to join VfL Wolfsburg and the Bundesliga following fellow Italian and teammate Cristian Zaccardo.

He was given the number 43.

It was later reported that the Italian international snubbed Fiorentina's five-year £1.2 million contract for VfL Wolfsburg's three-year offer of £2.5 million.

The official transfer fee was €12.95 million.

Barzagli played every minute of the 2008–09 Bundesliga championship winning season for Wolfsburg.

He later credited his Wolfsburg coach during the 2008–09 season, Felix Magath, for having helped him to improve as a footballer and for instilling a stronger mentality and work ethic in him.

On 15 September 2009, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in Wolfsburg's 3–1 home win over CSKA Moscow.

He scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in a 4–0 win over TSG Hoffenheim on 4 April 2010.

He closed his second season at Wolfsburg with two appearances in the Champions League and three in the Europa League, as well as 1 goal in 24 league appearances.

In his third season with the German club, he collected 17 league appearances before moving to Juventus in January.

His first six months with the Bianconeri coincided with the second half of a terribly disappointing 2010–11 campaign under Luigi Delneri, which saw the club finish only seventh in Serie A, with Barzagli making 15 appearances in the league that season.

With the arrival of Antonio Conte as the new Juventus coach, Barzagli became an integral part of the Juventus backline, and was one of the club's most consistent performers, culminating in a recall to the national team.

In 2011, he returned to Italy, joining Juventus, where he later won eight consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2019, among other trophies, including a record of four consecutive Coppa Italia titles between 2015 and 2018; having also played two UEFA Champions League finals between 2015 and 2017.

On 26 January 2011, Barzagli left Wolfsburg to return to Italy, joining Serie A giants Juventus for a contract of €300,000 fixed and €300,000 variable, which would keep him at the club until 2013.

Barzagli's contract with Wolfsburg was due to expire on 30 June 2011.

He made his debut with the Turin club in a 2–1 away defeat against his former team Palermo, on the 23rd match-day of the season on 2 February 2011.

Juventus finished the 2011–12 season with the best defence in Italy and in Europe, only conceding 20 goals in 38 appearances.

He helped Juventus win the 2011–12 scudetto undefeated, and the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana; Juventus also made the final of the Coppa Italia that season.

His stellar season earned him a place in the Serie A Team of the Year.

Barzagli scored his first goal for Juventus on 13 May 2012, scoring a penalty against Atalanta in the last league match of the season, in a 3–1 home win.

During the 2012–13 season, Barzagli made a total of 45 appearances in all competitions for Juventus, his highest personal tally since his first season at Wolfsburg.

At the end of the season, he renewed his contract with Juventus until 2015.