Andrea Barzagli     Country : Italy

Player Profile Player Name Andrea Barzagli Team/Country Italy Position Defender Jersey No. 6 DOB 1981-05-08 Height 186 cm Weight 79 kg Current Club Palermo Euro Stats Appearances 0 Mins. Played 0 Goals Scored 0

An up-and-coming central defender who has assiduously served US Citta di Palermo in Serie A over the past four years, Andrea Barzagli has become an important member of the Italy squad.

Made his Serie A debut for AC Chievo Verona in August 2003 after several seasons in Italy's lower leagues; transferred to Palermo a year later.

Won 15 Under-21 caps and was a European champion at that level in 2004; he also won an Olympic bronze medal a few months later in Athens.

Chosen for Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad despite playing just six minutes in qualifying.

Appeared twice at the final tournament in Germany - as a substitute against Australia and for the full 90 minutes in the quarter-final against Ukraine, replacing the suspended Marco Materazzi.

Started six UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying matches, including the decisive 2-1 victory over Scotland at Hampden Park.

Barzagli is a huge fan of his hometown club, ACF Fiorentina. The same is true of all his family, so when it was rumoured he would be transferred to the Viola's arch-rivals Juventus, his mother Anna said: "It would be like a knife in the heart."