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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.
