Andrea Barzagli

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…

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. He was called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and, while not expecting to play at all, was deployed as a substitute in a 1–0 victory against Australia in the second round, following Marco Materazzi's sending-off. He subsequently appeared again, starting in his side's 3–0 victory over Ukraine in the quarter-finals following Materazzi's suspension and Alessandro Nesta's injury; he appeared for the full 90 minutes in this fixture, and kept clean sheets in both matches. Italy went on to win the World Cup final that year on penalties over France.

Post-World Cup victory and Euro 2008

A key member of Italy's defence under new Italy manager Roberto Donadoni, Barzagli was deployed six times in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying matches, and appeared in the crucial 2–1 victory over Scotland. He was selected to Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 squad, and partnered alongside Materazzi in the heavy 0–3 defeat against the Netherlands, after Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro on 2 June suffered an injury in training. Barzagli later suffered an injury in training…

Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, and as one of Italy's and Juventus's greatest defenders ever, Barzagli was known for his strong, commanding and powerful physical build as a centre-back, and for being "strong in terms of anticipation, concentration and positional sense." Throughout his career with Italy and Juventus, the defensive trio of Barzagli, Bonucci, and Chiellini, which was dubbed the BBC in the media, was considered to be one of the greatest in history, with pundits likening it to Italy's and Juventus's successful defensive trio of the 1930s, made up of full-backs Virginio Rosetta and Umberto Caligaris, as well as centre-half Luis Monti, who also won five consecutive league titles. Considered a "late-bloomer", he stood out in Italy and in Europe during the 2010s, due to his marking, intelligence, aerial prowess, and precise tackling ability, as well as his correct behaviour, capacity to read the game, and his adeptness in one on one situations; these attributes enabled him to establish himself as one of the best defenders in Italy, and be voted to the Serie A Team of the Year for three consecutive seasons, also making him an important member of both his club and national sides. His calm composure, tactical awareness, consistency, technique, vision, and ball playing ability enabled him to be regarded as one of the best and most complete defenders in the world. Despite not being the quickest defender over short distances, he was also known for…

Barzagli and his wife Maddalena were married in July 2013, and have a son and a daughter.