Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was selected to the Serie A Team of the Year four times.
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 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 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.
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. 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.
Club career
Early career in Italy In the 1998–99 season, Barzagli made his first professional football appearance with semi-professional Rondinella before moving to Serie B side 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. 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.
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 bestowed with the captain's armband after Eugenio Corini controversially left the Sicilian club in the summer of the 2007–08 season.
Wolfsburg 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.
Juventus 2011–2014
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. 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. Juventus finished the 2011–12 season with the best defence in Italy and in Europe, only conceding 20 goals in 38 appearances. 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 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. At the end of the season, he renewed his contract with Juventus until 2015.
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. 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, winning their second consecutive title, and made their way to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia; due to their performances together, the three-man defence earned the nickname BBC, a reference to the players' initials, and soon the trio established themselves as one of the best defences in world football during the following seasons. Although Barzagli did not score during the 2012–13 season, he impressed, however, in the home fixture against Roma in September 2012, when he won the ball in his own half, ran past an opponent with a "sombrero", and made a lung-bursting run that culminated in a through-ball assist for Sebastian Giovinco, as Juventus won the match 4–1.
In the 2013–14 season, Barzagli's consistent performances continued for Juventus, despite having dealt with injury problems throughout the season. Juventus won the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana and their third consecutive Serie A title, their thirtieth overall, with a record 102 points, finishing again with the best defence in the League. Juventus disappointed in Europe, however, and were eliminated in the group stage of the Champion's League, although they managed to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League that season.
2014–2019 After the 2014 World Cup, Barzagli endured an injury and was operated in Finland on 1 July 2014, being ruled out for three months. Barzagli missed the entire first half of the 2014–15 season, and only returned to the starting line-up in a friendly match with the youth side. He was called up for the first leg of Juventus's semi-final match-up against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia. He made his first appearance for Juventus since his injury eight months before, coming on as a substitute in Juventus's 1–0 home win over Sassuolo on 9 March 2015. Barzagli started the next league game on 14 March 2015, helping Juventus to keep a clean sheet in a 1–0 away win over Palermo.
On 2 May 2015, Barzagli helped Juventus keep a clean sheet in a 1–0 away victory over Sampdoria, which allowed the Turin club to clinch the Serie A title for a fourth consecutive season. On 20 May, he featured in Juventus's 2–1 victory over Lazio in the 2015 Coppa Italia final, as Juventus completed a domestic double that season; this was also the club's record tenth Coppa Italia title. On 6 June, Barzagli started for Juventus in the 2015 UEFA Champions League final, ahead of his injured defensive teammate Chiellini, but were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at Berlin's Olympiastadion.
On 25 July, Barzagli sustained a thigh strain, and was initially ruled out for three weeks, meaning that he would miss the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana; however, he was able to recover in time to start the match as Juventus defeated Lazio 2–0 on 8 August to claim a record seventh Supercoppa Italiana title.
During the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Barzagli demonstrated his versatility by filling in for the recovering Stephan Lichtsteiner as a rightback; in this position, he made a series of impressive performances, including an assist for Álvaro Morata's opening goal in a 2–0 home win over Sevilla in the Champions League group stage on 30 September, which earned him the Juventus Player of the Month Award for October. On 8 November, Barzagli made his 300th Serie A appearance in a 3–1 away win over Empoli. On 6 March 2016, Barzagli scored his second ever goal for the club since the 2011–12 season in a 2–0 away win over Atalanta; coincidentally, his first goal for the club also came against Atalanta, 91 games earlier. On 8 May, he made his 150th Serie A appearance for Juventus in a 2–1 away defeat to Verona; this was his 30th league appearance of the season, and his 40th in all competitions, the most he had totalled since the 2012–13 season. After helping Juventus to a fifth consecutive Serie A title, on 11 May, Barzagli extended his contract with the club until the end of the 2017–18 season.
On 6 November 2016, Barzagli dislocated his shoulder in the fifth minute of play against Chievo after falling awkwardly and was stretchered off the pitch and taken to hospital. Tests the following day estimated he would be out for two months. He returned to action sooner than expected on 17 December, coming on as a substitute in the 68th minute of a 1–0 home win over Roma.
On 3 June 2017, Barzagli started in his second Champions League final in three years with Juventus, but they were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid.
On 29 June 2018, Barzagli extended his contract with Juventus for one season. After initially struggling with injuries early on in the season, he returned to the starting line-up for the club's league fixture on 26 September, and made his 200th Serie A appearance with Juventus during the match, captaining the team in a 2–0 home win over Bologna. On 23 October, he made his 50th UEFA Champions League appearance (excluding qualifying rounds), coming on as a late substitute for Juan Cuadrado in a 1–0 away win over Manchester United.
On 13 April 2019, after appearing in a 2–1 away defeat to SPAL, Barzagli announced he would retire at the end of the season. On 19 May, in Juventus's final home game of the 2018–19 Serie A season, a 1–1 draw against Atalanta, Barzagli made his final appearance of his career, and was given a send-off as Juventus celebrated winning the Serie A title. In the 61st minute, he came off for Mario Mandžukić and was given a standing ovation by the crowd.
International career Youth career, senior debut and 2006 World Cup victory Barzagli was a member of the Italian under-21 side that conquered the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under the guidance of manager Claudio Gentile, and he also appeared at the Summer Olympics in Athens that year, winning a bronze medal. On 17 November 2004, Barzagli debuted for the Italian senior squad in 1–0 friendly home victory against Finland under coach Marcello Lippi.