It's been a couple of seasons now since I've noticed this guy. He's one of the few young central defenders so far I have seen in Italy who is capable fo the dizzying heights of Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro! Barzagli seems to have the tools necessary to go on to be a star for both country (already a World Cup champion and even before that an U-21 European champion) and club (currently Palermo, would love to see him at JUVE)! With limited Serie A coverage this season (hoping to swtich from cable to DirecTV very soon to correct that) I haven't seen much of him in Serie A recently, but one game i did was the 2-1 win versus Lazio! He was pretty solid but his attacking forays sometimes left Agliardi exposed.... He for me just seems to be a player who will be a centrepiece of the next generation of Italian NT and club game. Palermo fans already know it but everyone should consider him when considering the likes of (Alberto Gilardino, Daniele De Rossi, etc) And now they will, welcome to the Andrea Barzagli thread!
i hate you. you know damn well he's going to Juve!!! -runs out of topic bawling- ;-; seriously though, he's aces. no two ways to it.
I think he'd be crazy to go to Juve. Palermo is a much better city than Torino, and Palermo is also a much better club!
Latest on Barzagli from Foschi's interview Interest on Barzagli is not only Juventus but also Inter and Milan. His transfer will also depend on their standing in Serie A, and if Palermo qualifies for Champions League (bypassing the qualifiers) next season, he could also remain a Rosanero. Otherwise, it would be difficult to withhold him. And he's also worth not less than 25 M euros.
GO JUVENTUS!!! I'm already excluding Inter, after all, we have seen what they do with Italian defenders.... And Milan, I'm not sure if Berlusconi would be so satisfied with that idea.... Juve is the only option..... GO TO JUVE, BARZAGLI!!
Well I really do like Palermo as well but it's true I love JUVE and that would be the right move if you ask me! As far as moving if he does leave Palermo where would you like to see him go Inter (the Italian graveyard) or Milan where he'll be second fiddle to Alessandro Nesta? At JUVE he'll be given the mantle to lead our defence and I have great faith he can do just that, so fingers crossed he does end up at JUVE next season! STILL, the point of this post was just to have a nice thread recognizing his stellar play....
i can't stand the milanese, inter got grosso but all that was mostly in jest. one can only ponder what the A would be like with juve up. maybe we will see next season?
Andrea Barzagli will always have a special place in my heart as I was in the stands above in Kaiserslautern as Materazzi was sent off and Barzagli brought in. My new Italian friends next to me spoke the fastest, most unintelligible Italian I've ever heard but I caught their final word - 'catenaccio.' We laughed, but after seeing Cannavaro immediately take charge, rearranging the entire team in the most awesome display of how to be a captain I will ever see, we had faith. Hell, no offense to Barzagli, but it seemed on that day with Canna in the form of his or anyone else's life, that you could've put anyone beside Canna and they would've felt like they could keep out a team of Puskas, Fontaine and Maradona. And they did. And of course then Grosso and Totti came to the rescue and the rest is beautiful history. The lessons learned that day and against Ukraine will serve Barzagli well in the years ahead.
Latest I heard on Barzagli's proposed transfer to JUVE was something in the region of 10 Million Euros plus one of Paolo De Ceglie, Claudio Marchisio, Raffaele Palladino or Domenico Criscito (even Fabrizio Miccoli mentioned)! Still this guy is the real deal for me and the prospect of him anchoring JUVE backline is very enticing!
I remember him as a no-body at Ascoli, but he was something special. I think every Ascoli fan, knew he would one day play at a big club, and even the national team. Another player who had a similar role at Ascoli was Modesto who is now at Reggina, probably even more impressive than Barzagli when he was at Ascoli. Good Luck to the boys, and hopefully they return to Ascoli.
Now a fully cemented Italy international and basically you can say the third choice CB for ITALY! Barzagli is the defender I'd really like to see join JUVE if we can hold onto our UCL spot. Barzagli and Chiellini would be great, Legrottaglie has had a spllendid season and Criscito may in time develop but I want Barzagli! Captain of Palermo, we want you not Amauri!
Rumours abound of a return to Italy from Wolfsburg with Juventus, Roma and Fiorentina the mooted targets. Still stand by my comments back then, had we gotten Barzagli instead of Amauri, things could have been better.