Andrea Barzagli sees Matthijs de Ligt eventually developing into the best defender in the world. The 40-year-old former defender of Juventus is keeping a close eye on the development of his 21-year-old successor, he says in an interview with Tuttosport. “We look alike as defenders, that’s right, but De Ligt can become better than I was,” said Barzagli. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have achieved so much at his age.”
De Ligt played his first game of the season for Juventus on Saturday. He had a starting spot in the friendly match against AC Monza (1-2). “In a few years he will be the best in the world for sure,” predicts Barzagli. “He has everything to become the best, starting with his mentality. He is always on the lookout. But he has to be given time to grow. At his age I played in Serie C, while he played for Juventus and the Netherlands are playing. Even if you are a cool frog like him, it is impossible not to feel a bit of pressure, especially when Juventus pays 75 million euros for you.”
At the moment, Barzagli does not yet rank the Dutchman among the world’s best defenders. “It depends on the moment. Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Virgil van Dijk, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique and Thiago Silva are all among the best in the world for me,” responds Barzagli, when asked who he thinks is the best. However, he does not agree with criticism that Marco van Basten expressed against De Ligt during the European Championship. Based on a game situation during the Netherlands – Austria (2-0) – Marcel Sabitzer seemed to get a free passage towards the goal because De Ligt followed Michael Gregoritsch – Van Basten concluded that De Ligt has learned little in Italy.
“Sometimes such a boy is dealt with too hard,” says Barzagli about De Ligt. “Which player is better at 21 or 22? Over time you learn to read situations better, that’s a matter of experience.” Barzagli played for Ascoli at the age of De Ligt, with whom he was promoted from Serie C to Serie B at the age of 21. He is best known for his tenure at Juventus between 2011 and 2019, for which he played 206 league matches and with whom he has eight once champion of Italy. Barzagli, World Cup winner in 2006, also became champion of Germany in 2009 in the service of VfL Wolfsburg.