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[ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4724: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4725: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) SerieAForums • View topic - Internazionale Main Thread
With Andrea Barzagli and Cristian Zaccardo signing for Volkswagen sponsored Wolfsburg, James Horncastle wonders what is driving Italians to Germany
Three stars adorn Germany's national shirt, commemorating the hat-trick of World Cups won by sie Deutsch. They could, however, easily celebrate the three Italian World Cup winners who have signed for Bundesliga clubs in the past 12 months - Luca Toni, Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli.
Italy's victory in Berlin two years ago and Toni's success since joining Bayern Munich last summer have clearly contributed to making Italian footballers fashionable commodities in Germany. Mercedes and Audis are hurtling down the autobahns and parking outside Italian clubs, waiting to buy the latest in vogue and increasingly materialistic star of Serie A.
Barzagli followed his teammate Zaccardo to Wolfsburg after signing a contract in a car park in Coverciano, where Italy are training ahead of the European Championship. The 27-year-old defender, heavily linked with Fiorentina, snubbed the Viola's offer of a five-year contract worth £1.2 a season for a £2.5m deal with the Germans spread over three years. Barzagli, to his credit, picked up the scent of money faster than a German Shepherd. But isn't his job picking up strikers?
Barzagli's move is just wunderba for the Germans, but his flagrant greed is a disgraceful and made all the more stark by his treatment of Fiorentina. The stopper courted the Viola for months and intimated that he wanted to come home. Barzagli hails from Tuscany and more specifically Fiesole, the village just outside Florence, which lends its name to the Viola Curva.
His new club Wolfsburg are in the UEFA Cup next year after attaining their highest ever finish in the Bundesliga. They finished fifth having flirted with relegation in each of their last two seasons. Fiorentina, on the other hand, are in the Champions League and have a history and tradition not to be sniffed at - while the Gigliati were busy winning the Scudetto in 1969, Wolfsburg contented themselves with sixth in the North German Regional League.
It makes me feel sorry for poor old cuddly Cesare Prandelli. Or does it? Prandelli is better off without avaricious Andrea who will probably, sadly, end up in obscurity. Wolfsburg appear to be the new Valencia or Monaco, where promising Italians go to bury their careers. Even the best Italian exports risk being looked over by the Azzurri. Didn't Gianfranco Zola teach you anything?
I only hope Barzagli and Zaccardo have as much of an impact on the German game as Toni who made himself un-ignorable by scoring 24 goals in 31 games and earning £153,000 a week. They are, however, at a disadvantage because they are defenders - who are instantly forgettable.