Player of the Season nominees: Andrea Barzagli

With the season having ended, Sportskeeda decided to let its viewers rate the30 best players of the season.

We will be shortlisting 30 of the best performers this term, and let you pick your winner.

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Andrea Barzagli

Today, Andrea Barzagli cannot be categorized as an unheard of commodity; but a few years ago, he was never in contention to be one of the first names to come off our heads when asked to name top European defenders. Such is his enigmatic aura that despite always being a prominent figure in the Serie A, he never established his dominance till he joined Juventus in 2011.

After enduring spells at Chievo, Palermo and Wolfsburg, Barzagli finally seemed to settle in at the Bianconeri. From a total mess in the Bundesliga, to being labeled as the “Iron Man” of Juventus, Barzagli has enjoyed a merry-go-around affair with world football. But for a player who signed for €600,000 to don the Black and White of the Old Lady, Barzagli has proved to be one of the wisest investments of the 2010s.

The centre-back was born in the little known town of Fiesole, Italy. Playing for the semi-professional side of Rondinella Calcio, Barzagli first raised eyebrows for his ability to last an entire game and not tire out.

He moved around smaller clubs until he was snagged by Serie A outfit Chievo Verona, who brought him on in a 1-1 draw against Brescia in 2003. For about four years, he then plied his trade at Palermo and began to start games on a regular basis. Then he was shipped to Wolfsburg, where his performances and popularity began to diminish. In the January transfer window of 2011, Juventus picked him up as a backup centre-back. Since the arrival of coach Antonio Conte at the club, Barzagli has transformed into an astute and versatile defender who now starts regularly for both club and country.

Season review

Fresh off an unbeaten league season in 2011-12, Juventus were favourites to recapture their title. Barzagli was slotted in as starting centre-back, where he would be the pivotal force in set pieces as the primary man marker. With Giorgino Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, he forged one of the most monumental centre-half partnerships that saw the team top the league since the second week.

In several games this past season, Barzagli’s composure in keeping up with the opponent’s attack earned him praise, especially how he could effortlessly break up play. He was also put in the spotlight for his ability to read the opponents movement and put in tackles to curtail runs in the penalty box. Games against AC Milan and Napoli evinced how Barzagli held his calm even against the likes of Alessandro Pato and Edinson Cavani.

Throughout the season, Juventus presented the opponent with a colossus in defence in the form of Barzagli. Affectionately nicknamed as “the Wall” in Turin, the 31-year-old further showcased to the fans that age is immaterial in modern football. Even when everyone betted against him to fail against the quicker attacks, Barzagli proved them wrong; these performances also saw him bag numerous accolades – one being the coveted 2012 Serie A Defender of the Year.

Just two years ago, he was barely getting starts in the reserve team. This past season, he went onto feature in every one of Juventus’s league games, playing every single minute of it. His value in the transfer market is now 12 million Euros – a sensational rise from a meagre 600,000 Euros the club paid to sign him from Wolfsburg.

Juventus finished the season with the least goals conceded, had the most clean sheets, longest winning run, the fewest yellow cards issued, and finished 9 points clear of Napoli to win their second consecutive league title. If this was a convincing season, there was definitely one man at the helm of it – Andrea Barzagli.

He finished the season with the best disciplinary record for players having played at least 25 games and appeared in more games than any Juventus player in 2012-13.

In Europe, Juventus faltered in the quarter-finals; but till then, they were superior against the likes of Chelsea, Shakthar Donetsk and Celtic. Ask Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Fernandinho and Gary Hooper about how they felt being outplayed by Barzagli, who, despite being slower than the opponent, won the battle because of his fantastic positioning skills.

For Italy too, Barzagli stood out and was deployed as Cesar Prandelli’s main centre-back. Having come off a successful Euro 2012 campaign where Barzagli played a crucial role in Italy finishing as the runners up, the centre-back was applauded for his calm in pressure situations, especially on the counter-attack.

Situations saw Barzagli being the last man around, but that didn’t him stop him from leaving his ground and guarding Italy’s fortress effectively. He went onto earn a dozen more caps throughout 2012-13, constantly starting in Italy’s qualifiers for World Cup 2013. It will be a sure bet that come 2013-14, Barzagli will be one of the first names on Prandelli’s team sheet for the remaining World Cup qualifiers.

Conclusion

Andrea Barzagli might be one of the best defenders in the world today, but he still lives under the radar. His quiet persona ensures he doesn’t capture the wrong headlines off the field, and moreover, he was still an unheralded sensation outside the continent of Europe till this month’s Confederations Cup. But after Italy’s bronze medal finish, very few attackers in the world would fancy themselves against Barzagli, and it remains to see how many will actually prevail. In 2013-14, he will be the same player with his name still being one of the first one written on the team sheet of his club and country. Juventus has definitely made the bargain of the new decade by signing this man in 2011.

Click here to view the rest of the Player of the Season nominees.