Italy 
Although a relative unknown outside of Italy, Palermo's Barzagli made seven appearances in qualifying for his country and is pushing Marco Materazzi and Fabio Cannavaro close for a starting place in the centre of defence.
The 27-year-old Barzagli came to prominence in 2004 when he joined Palermo following spells at a number of lower league clubs, including Ascoli and Chievo.
Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, and now plays with a maturity which belies his 21 caps to date.
He is quick, strong and good in the air despite his relative lack of height for a central defender at 6"1 and it surely won't be long before Barzagli establishes himself as one of the first names on the Italy team sheet.
Barzagli made just one start at the 2006 World Cup, in the quarter-final against Ukraine, but it would be no surprise to see him better that in Austria and Switzerland.
