10 Players Who Probably Regret Joining Barcelona
10. Gianluca Zambrotta
He arrived at the Nou Camp a World Cup winner and one of the greatest defenders in world football. His glorious reign in Turin having come to an end in shameful fashion, with the Calciopoli scandal having clouded their recent Serie A triumphs, Gianluca Zambrotta was ready for a new challenge.
By the time Barcelona had chewed him up and spat him back out again, he was a shell of a man. Gone was the rampaging right-back who had tirelessly bombed down the right flank throughout the triumphant 2006 World Cup. What lay in its wake was a tired 31 year old defender, unable to keep up with the fast-paced rhythm of the Barcelona attacks.
With Sevillas Dani Alves having been poached in the same summer, Zambrotta must surely have known that the writing was on the wall the second he put pen to paper, but when your club has just been been demoted to Serie B, a transfer to the Champions League winners is always hard to turn down.
He was a symbol of the ageing Barcelona side which had contributed to the trophy-less two seasons between 2006 and 2008. Ultimately, it was these shortcomings which saw Frank Rijkaard pay the price, before new boss Pep Guardiola chopped the deadwood, tossing Zambrotta onto a scrap heap including the likes of Deco, Ronaldinho and Oleguer.