During his time at Juventus, Andrea Barzagli was one-third of what was arguably the best defensive trio in world football at the time.
The Tuscan formed a splendid three-man defense alongside Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, helping the club usher in the longest-winning dynasty in Italian football history.
Nowadays, Calcio is struggling to produce top-notch defenders who can keep the flame ablaze.
While Barzagli is expecting a young crop to step up to the plate, he considers 35-year-old Inter defender Francesco Acerbi as the most consistent at the moment.
“Acerbi is one of the most consistent, but now I’m waiting for some younger profiles to develop,” said the 42-year-old in his interview with La Stampa via JuventusNews24.
“We need them for the national team. I’m talking about Gianluca Mancini and Alessandro Bastoni, who can and must continue to grow.
“The same goes gor Giorgio Scalvini and Alessandro Buongiorno. We need them because we have a European Championship to defend and usually in Germany we gain some satisfaction.”
On another note, Barzagli discussed the future of his old companions Bonucci and Chiellini who are currently plying their trade in Germany and the USA respectively.
“Leo had a good match against Napoli and I hope he can revive his career with Union Berlin.
“Traumatic divorce? We talked to one another, but I wouldn’t allow myself to give advice. Everyone lives in their own situations. Unfortunately, no one came out well, it could have ended differently.
“Chiellini is doing well. He will stop playing soon and take a break. I see his future as a manager at Juventus.”
Finally, Barzagli opened up on his own coaching experience at Juventus. After hanging his boots in 2019, he immediately joined Maurizio’s Sarri coaching staff.
However, the legendary defender swiftly vacated his role and explained why swiftly jumping into this role was a mistake.
“The only thing wrong was the rush. I wanted to stay at Juventus. However, I needed a year’s break from everything.
“It was a very limited experience because I arrived late and in a workgroup that I didn’t know. I didn’t want to continue because I knew I would only give 50%.
“So if you’re going to give so little, there’s no point in doing so. I don’t like quitting, but it was the lesser evil.”
“Now I have a clear idea of what I want to do. This is the fourth year following my retirement and I have opened up my horizons a bit.
“I will try to be a manager after taking the course. I have no pressure, but I have ambition. Then I know that we need to gain experience and little by little, I will try to dive in .”
