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VOTD: The Greatness That Is Andrea Barzagli

Hint: This guy is good at his day job.

It would easy to just type the words "Andrea Barzagli is good, so watch this video, idiots." and then just simply end the post right then and there. It really would, but I won't stoop that level — yet. Ha! Gotcha, there.

What this video proves is what we already know: Barzagli is, at 31 years of age, in the midst of the best two-year run of his career. Just think about what it was like before he came to Juventus. Really, do it. It's been two years and change since Beppe Marotta signed Barzagli for €300,000 and possibly a couple of t-shirts. And since then, he's gone from a guy who was looked at a reserve defender being brought in on the cheap to a player who is now playing like one of the best defenders there is.

That progression — incredibly rapid and now less-and-less surprising as every game goes by — has seen Barzagli have a complete career renaissance. And what has he done to show that this isn't some kind of flash-in-the-pan kind of deal? Well, only continue to be as consistent as any player in a Juve jersey. Game after game, match after march, Barzagli is in the lineup. And as the games go by, he only continues to show that he's one of the best bargains in recent football memory.

And by the looks of it, there is no slowing down for this man they call The Wall. If that's not his official nickname, then it damn well should be. There's really no other name that's more appropriate for a guy who basically tells opposing attackers "THOU SHALL NOT PASS!" every time they try and get by him.

In conclusion, Andrea Barzagli is good. So just watch the damn video.