.jpg) Barzagli playing for Juventus in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrea Barzagli | ||
| Date of birth | 8 May 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Fiesole, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Juventus | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rondinella | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2000 | Rondinella | 51 | (3) |
| 2000 | Pistoiese | 5 | (0) |
| 2001 | Rondinella | 13 | (1) |
| 2001–2003 | Piacenza | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | → Ascoli (loan) | 46 | (3) |
| 2003–2004 | Chievo | 29 | (3) |
| 2004–2008 | Palermo | 142 | (4) |
| 2008–2011 | VfL Wolfsburg | 75 | (1) |
| 2011– | Juventus | 95 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003–2004 | Italy U-21 | 15 | (0) |
| 2004– | Italy | 46 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 November 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2013 | |||
Andrea Barzagli, Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛa barˈdzaʎʎi]; born 8 May 1981 in Fiesole) is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Juventus.[3] Barzagli is known for his powerful build and being "strong in terms of concentration and positional sense."[4]
Contents
[hide]Club career[edit]
In the 1998–99 season, Barzagli made his first professional football appearance with semi-professionalRondinella Calcio[5] before moving to Serie B side A.C. Pistoiese in 2000–01,[5] in a co-ownership deal.[6] A year later he rejoined Rondinella Calcio in Serie C2. He then signed for Ascoli Calcio 1898 for the 2001–02 season[5] (from Piacenza, a Serie A from 2001 to 2003) and helped them gain promotion to Serie B. He remained in Ascoli for another year without further success. In July 2003 he was sold by Piacenza in another co-ownership deal.[7] His first Serie A cap was won with ChievoVerona in the 1–1 draw at Brescia on August 2003.[5] A year later the defender was signed by Serie A outfit Palermo. Barzagli was bestowed with thecaptain's armband after Eugenio Corini controversially left the Sicilian club in the summer of 2007–08.[8]
Wolfsburg[edit]
In 2008, Barzagli was in contract negotiations with ACF 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.[9] 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".[10] Instead Barzagli choose to join VfL Wolfsburg and the Bundesliga following fellow Italian and team-mate Cristian Zaccardo. He was given the number 43. It was later reported that the Italian international snubbed Fiorentina's five years £1.2 million contract for VfL Wolfsburg's offer of 3 years £2.5 million offer.[11] The transfer fee was 12.95 million Euro.[12]Barzagli played every minute of the 2008–09 Bundesliga championship winning season for Wolfsburg. He scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in a 4–0 win over TSG Hoffenheim on 4 April 2010. He later credited his Wolfsburg coach of 2008–09 Felix Magath for having helped him to improve as a footballer.
![[icon]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section requires expansion.(January 2011) |
Juventus[edit]
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.[3] Barzagli's contract with Wolfsburg was due to expire on 30 June 2011. 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. Barzagli however impressed observers with his displays in the centre of defence.
Since the arrival of Antonio Conte as coach of the Bianconeri, Barzagli has gone on to become an integral part of the Juve backline and is one of the club's most consistent performers, culminating in a recall to thenational team. Juventus finished the 2011–12 season with the best defence in Italy and in Europe, only conceding 20 goals, and won the League undefeated. 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. He has helped Juventus win the 2011–12 scudetto and the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana. Juventus also made the final of the Coppa Italia that season. Barzagli was elected to be part of the 2012 Serie A Team of the Year and won the 2012 Serie A Defender of the Yearaward.[13]
In 2012–13, Barzagli made a total of 45 appearances in all competitions for Juventus, his highest personal tally since his first season at Wolfsburg. Most of these were made alongside Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in Antonio Conte's now typical three-man backline and 3-5-2 formation, as the club again prevailed in Serie A and made their way to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Barzagli did not score during the season, however he impressed in the home fixture against A.S. Roma in September 2012, when he won the ball in his own half, ran past an opponent and made a lung-bursting run that culminated in a through-ball assist for Sebastian Giovinco.
International career[edit]
Barzagli was a member of the Italian side that conquered the 2004 UEFA Under-21 Championship under the guidance of Claudio Gentile, and he also appeared at the Summer Olympics in Athens that year. He won his first international cap in November 2004 against Finland under Italian coach Lippi. He was called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and, while not expecting to play at all, was deployed as a substitute in the second round match against Australia and again for a full 90 minutes in the quarter-final against Ukraine due to the suspension of Marco Materazzi.[14] Italy went on to win the World Cup that year.
Barzagli was deployed six times in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying matches and appeared in the crucial 2–1 victory over Scotland.[15] He was recalled to Italy'sUEFA Euro 2008 squad and partnered Materazzi in the heavy 0–3 defeat against the Netherlands after Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro on 2 June suffered an injury in training.[16] Because of the fallout from that heavy loss, Barzagli then appeared for the Azzurri only one time during the following three years. That was in the 1–2 World Cup qualifier win against Cyprus after Alessandro Gamberini fell injured after 60 seconds.[17] In spite of winning the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg in 2009, he was not picked by Marcello Lippi for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
On 7 October 2011, after three years of absence, he came back to the national team playing as a starter in the Euro 2012 qualifier away match againstSerbia.
On 1 June 2012, in a preparation match for Euro 2012, he captained the team for the first time after Gianluigi Buffon was taken off to be replaced by Morgan De Sanctis.
On 18 June 2012, after recovering from injury, Barzagli was picked over Leonardo Bonucci to play against Ireland in the Last Group Stage match for Italy in the Euro 2012 tournament. He aided the team in a 2–0 win over Ireland which allowed Italy to qualify. On 24 June 2012 Barzagli started the Euro 2012 quarter final game against England which also resulted in an Italian victory on penalties, after the match had finished 0–0 after extra time. On 28 June 2012, Barzagli continued his success in Euro 2012 by aiding Italy in a 2–1 victory against Germany. Italy were eventually defeated by defending European and World Champions Spain in the Final, although their place in the final automatically qualified them for the 2013 Confederations Cup.
