«A strong emotion. I had lived a very quiet week, because I felt serene. In my opinion, the right moment had arrived. Then in the morning, I woke up and started feeling a bit of a lump in my throat, I knew my family and friends were coming. I had a difficult footballing year, I was out a lot, I didn`t feel up to the level of the others anymore. And when you`re in a team like this, with players like these, training becomes demanding, there`s so much quality so you need to be physically well. In the dressing room, the guys joked around and the lump in my throat disappeared. I didn`t expect the pre-match presentation with the president`s thanks and the team lined up. Gigi (Buffon) coming specially from Paris was an enormous gift for me. And right there, it was a strong emotion».
The Field 5 at Coverciano is smaller than a normal 11-a-side pitch. It seems they squeezed it onto a corner of the perfect quadrilateral where the Federal Technical Center stands, like the small leg of a large Q. It`s framed on three sides by the rustle of about twenty tall cypresses and confined between the apartment buildings of via Papini and via Saba. By the edge of this field, I watch the tactical session of a group of players without contracts. They are on Field 5, and more generally at Coverciano, as guests of the retreat that the Assocalciatori (Italian Footballers` Association) organizes every summer for free agents. It`s three weeks where they can train and attend coaching courses to start thinking about their post-playing careers.
On the field are about twenty players, including Sorrentino and Domizzi, Pasqual and Pulzetti, Nocerino and Capuano, Croce and Acquafresca. They are guided by the voice of Francesco D’Arrigo, who outlines lines of preventive cover and defensive diagonals. D’Arrigo is a lecturer at the FIGC Technical Sector`s Coaches School and at that exact moment, in the center of the field, he is applying the concepts he explained in the classroom the day before.
Andrea Barzagli is different from the other retreat attendees, even though he does nothing to seem so. His participation is solely aimed at obtaining the UEFA B coaching license. Unlike the others, he has decided not to play anymore. The others train to be ready if and when a club offers them a new contract. He does not. The others still have a player`s mindset. He does not. Despite this, despite having nothing to prove, despite not needing to prepare for a new season, Barzagli seems to move at a different speed. He seems to kick, use his body, occupy the space around him differently from his teammates. A feeling of difference that becomes certainty when D’Arrigo, after explaining a couple of movements for a three-man defense, stops and asks: «Did I explain that correctly, Andrea?».
Seen up close, Barzagli is very big. Perhaps more long than big. He carries a sort of kinetic force. A deep voice, with distinct `r` sounds embedded in a subtle Florentine accent. With every step, he moves a massive body that always seems on the verge of picking up unexpected speed for his size.
«I decided to quit because I felt I had given everything I had to give». In the first days of this retreat, they asked him why he retired. He replied by saying he had reached his limit. I ask him if it`s just a physical limit or also mental. «Physically, I wasn`t as well as in the past, but it`s not just that. The limit is also, and above all, mental. I felt I was no longer able to guarantee the performance levels I was used to, and that bothered me». Barzagli is sitting in the main hall at Coverciano. He`s wearing the blue shorts and light blue shirt of the AIC uniform. A lesson has just finished, and he stopped for a few minutes to answer my questions.
The end of a high-level competitive career sometimes coincides with moments of disorientation. An abrupt transition from the spotlight to darkness, from the tensions of a decisive match to a daily routine without sudden breaks. However, these are not fears that touch Barzagli. «I`ve often heard it said that once you quit, you might miss the adrenaline. Honestly, I feel very good. I lived my entire career so intensely that now I don`t think I miss anything». The absence of this type of nostalgia is perfectly consistent with the awareness he spoke of earlier, of recognizing himself as mentally deficient for continuing to play football. It`s also consistent with what he adds a moment later: «In these few weeks, I`ve felt reborn as a person. I explained it to myself with the nervous energy I always put into my work. Now I`ve spent a lot of time with my family, and I won`t hide that I would have happily stayed with them when it was time to come to the retreat», and he says this last sentence as if it`s an absolute novelty for him and for how he lived his life until May.
In the response related to being away from his family, Barzagli also added: «I came here and put on a uniform and a pair of football boots again». He said it like someone who has already quit for 5 or 10 years might say it. He said goodbye on Sunday, May 19th, and I met him at the end of July. Not even two and a half months, yet in his mind, due to the mental detachment, years seem to have passed already.
Some of the corridors at the Coverciano Center have been transformed into large memory albums. The white walls are interrupted by photographs of Azzurri formations and their historical moments. Barzagli is present in at least two of those portraits, both inside German stadiums. On the field in Bochum, he poses with the other ten teammates with whom he is about to win the European Under-21 final in 2004. On the field of the Olympiastadion in Charlottenburg, West Berlin, Barzagli is one of those raising their fists to the sky at Cannavaro`s feet on the night of July 9, 2006.
These are two photographs that tell how the fabric of his career unfolded. A slow and constant approach to the highest level reachable in his sport. At 19, he played in C2 for Rondinella, a small club in Florence. At 20, he played for Ascoli in C1. He played the two Champions League finals of his career at ages 34 and 36. It seems almost as if Barzagli truly became Barzagli after turning 30. «You`re right. In my opinion, I started very well in the first years in Serie A and reached the National team early. Then I lacked consistency in performance, and I also believe the opportunity to join a big team earlier. Because I`m not saying they are two different sports, but there is an enormous difference between those aiming for mid-table or survival and those aiming to win. It`s a completely different way of playing football. The stress and pace make you grow in a way you can`t grow elsewhere. If you have quality, it`s bound to happen».
The mental dimension returns again. He always presents it as an ingredient that has the same weight in a career as the physical and technical aspects. He says that after the age of 30, «year after year, I improved as a player but also as a man». In his journey, he sees two crucial turning points that helped him. The first relates to his beginnings – «I didn`t grow up in the youth sector of a big club, and in my Primavera age, I was playing in a high-level C league, among people older than me, with more experience. A background that made me arrive in Serie A very mature» – the second turning point is instead linked to January 2011.
«My contract with Wolfsburg was expiring in June. I didn`t get along well with either the coach or the Sporting Director, and in June I would have left for free. So, they preferred to release me in January already and be able to monetize something». Thinking about it today, looking at the quality and results of his 8 and a half seasons in Turin, it`s amusing to think that Juventus bought him for 300 thousand euros then.
Barzagli is the first `B` in the little formula `BBC` with which the sports press endearingly summarized the three protagonists of the defensive block in the Conte and Allegri eras. «With Giorgio (Chiellini) and Leo (Bonucci), we improved each other. We found ourselves at a moment where we came from different histories. Giorgio already had many years at Juve and knew that world, Leo was in his first high-level experience, and I had my path of ups and downs».
From the outside, I always had the feeling that they were three very good footballers, yet without the talent to consistently be among the top ten defenders in Europe for a decade, as they later proved to be. I always answered myself that the reasons for their success lay in their mental approach, their hunger to improve, and the luck of having found the perfect coach to make them perform at their best together. I wanted to share the idea I had formed with him. A direct question: have you ever thought you were in the right place at the right time? Answer: «Yes».
I then ask him if he thinks luck exists. If it`s a valid concept. «More than luck, there are moments in your career where you can find everything perfect. The best conditions for working and the best people to do that work with. We found a coach who was very meticulous about the defensive phase, and we combined our different and complementary characteristics. If you find such favorable conditions and you add your part, your story can change. Here, you must, however, add your part».
I spoke informally with Barzagli other times during the Coverciano retreat. The last time we were sitting at a table at the Technical Center`s bar. He was being told by Pulzetti how the friendly match the group had played the day before in Carrara went. Pulzetti was telling him about the team, I was adding colorful details about the over-the-top outburst that Silvio Baldini – the Tuscan coach – had against some questionable refereeing decisions. Barzagli stands out among the others unknowingly. I got the impression that he would prefer to talk as little as possible and would much more gladly go unnoticed.
During the interview and in the few words exchanged with him during those days in Florence, I thought a lot about the phrase a Milan fan friend wrote to me: “You`re interviewing Barzagli? Well, among the Juventus players, he`s the one who has always bothered me the least.” I confessed this to him. He smiled and told me he had never perceived himself as being more likeable to opposing fans compared to his teammates. Then he added: «Perhaps because temperamentally I am quite moderate? Both on the field and in my statements, I don`t think I`ve ever done or said anything extraordinary. Maybe that`s why». Barzagli doesn`t give the impression of someone who flaunts his trophies, who feels superior to less decorated colleagues. However, he makes it clear that he doesn`t like to stand out too much in the group. I wouldn`t say it`s shyness, rather a love for his own space.
They call them `case matte` (crazy houses). They are three low concrete cylinders completely enclosed except for thin slits. They were built on the hills above Messina to serve as lookout forts during the Second World War. Their position dominating the strait was perfect for spotting ships arriving from both the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. A wedge inserted between two seas and at the intersection of winds. A place apparently also perfect for cultivating grapes, given that the vineyards and the winery that Andrea Barzagli created with a partner are located on that land. The agricultural company Le Casematte.
I had discovered Le Casematte the day before interviewing Barzagli. I was about to follow the afternoon training session of his group. Before it began, while I was organizing my notes, sitting a few meters away from me on the stand of Field 1, he and Sorrentino were talking about the winery and its labels. Barzagli`s conversation revealed competence and passion for that sector. Despite this, it`s not certain that his next career will be in the wine world. Or at least not only.
«I still don`t know what I will do. I`m evaluating many possibilities, and my presence here is part of that search. I`ve never been someone who was ultra-convinced about the next step. I`ve always preferred to think one phase at a time. In all honesty, as of today, I don`t know if I see myself as a coach, or a director, or perhaps completely outside of football. I`m trying to understand what dimension can excite me, because that`s the main thing».
He and Gozzi. Together in defense, separated by a few centimeters on the field, by 20 years off it. The father telling his son to narrow his position, urging him to push up with the rest of the line. Embracing him in the tunnel before his debut. The away section at the Mazza stadium sings for Barzagli, but he will only thank them at the end of the match. Too busy guiding a Juventus team never so young. Too happy to be sprinting again with his number 15 between the attacker and the ball.
Eight years ago, Andrea set foot in Turin, becoming the father of little Camilla. Dybala was playing in Argentine B league with Instituto for barely 4 thousand pesos annually, the minimum wage. Eight years ago, Conte`s Juventus was picking up its first victories.
Eight could also have been the Scudetti (league titles). Barzagli seemed to have returned specifically to celebrate in Ferrara, but Floccari ruined his plans. A matter of time, anyway. Like the time remaining until his last match as a footballer. A year ago, he was the first to embrace Buffon on the day of his farewell. This time, the scene will be similar. Not exactly the same only because Gigi, in the meantime, flew to France and won`t be able to be by his side.
But he will surely receive a call. Barzagli will say stop after this season. A cursed season, with three injuries making him suffer. Precious, because it made him understand that perhaps the time has come to do something else. Staying in football, perhaps teaching rather than learning: “Because he is a master of defense” to quote Allegri. The one who, according to Barzagli, put him in defense. Season 2000-2001, the two played together at Pistoiese. Max (Allegri), starting to think like a coach, went to Pillon (the coach) and spoke clearly: “Move Andrea back and you`ll see.”
The first of a long series of intuitions. Eight years ago, there was no Stadium. The logo was still the old one, Ronaldo was preparing to make Real great. Eight years ago, Barzagli finished seventh with Delneri`s Juventus, a prelude to the BBC of triumphs and records. He, who arrived for only 300 thousand euros. Returned to Italy completely different from when he had left it.
In 2006, he won the World Cup as a backup, believed he deserved a top club, and reluctantly ended up accepting Wolfsburg: “I don`t like your choice,” Lippi told him; “Do you know why you`re always injured and training poorly? Because you are the first to think you can`t do it”: Words from Felix Magath, who scolded him in German and changed him. It was there that the `wall` (defender) was born.
He won`t reach 300 appearances for Juventus by just a few. With Spal, his team lost, but a smile appears on his face. Finally, he finished a game. He had tried against Udinese too, back on the field after three months out. His calf, however, tightened after 25 minutes. He left with the face of someone who knows that, unfortunately, an important page of his life is ending.
A life that saw him become a World Champion. That saw him in the Chievo of Miracles (yes, he was the last active player from that team). That saw him lift 15 trophies (soon to be 16) with Juventus. That saw him cry from pain, as in 2014, when – after gritting his teeth to play the World Cup – he was forced to undergo surgery in Finland on his right heel.
A terrible pain that prevented him from going to the bathroom alone. And which led him to think about retirement. Instead, last summer, the final renewal: “One more year, then we`ll see,” were his words. Next to him, signing his contract, was also Chiellini, who will continue until 2020. Who knows, maybe with Barzagli as a teacher, who will continue to bring his wine into the dressing room after a triumph. Quitting, in the end, is traumatic. But the chapter that is opening can be very similar to the one that is closing.