The former Juventus midfielder guest on the Tripletta, Gazzetta podcast: “We need to give solidity to the project. I would have taken Donnarumma and Frattesi”
At 19, Claudio Marchisio went to the disco wearing a suit – something other than a t-shirt – and sometimes showed up dressed like that for training, sleeping for three hours in the car park. Nice play. Today he is twenty years older and Claudio is a guest on “La Tripletta”, the Gazzetta dello Sport podcast: he is as elegant as he was as a boy but has become a man and speaks straight. He says that Jonathan David trots instead of running, that many Juventus players don’t understand what it means to play in black and white stripes and the club has got everything wrong. Personality.
Juve is about to return to the field against Pafos but the mind remains in Naples. What game was it?
“A match between Napoli, who know what their coach is asking for, and a Juve who have been in difficulty since the beginning of the year. I was surprised to see Cabal on Koopmeiners’ wing, against a one-on-one player like Neres. I would have brought in someone more used to helping out.”
But what problems does Juventus have?
“The construction of the team has been wrong for two or three years. How many times in its history has Juve sacked the coach in the first few months? And how many times has the management changed after a year?”.
David, Openda, Zhegrova – they all disappoint. What happened on the market?
“In my opinion you can’t spend so much money every year, changing so many players. You have to recognize what your level is and change little, not mix everything up. You have to give solidity to the project and this hasn’t happened for some years.”
Is there a leadership problem?
“No, you have to have something more from everyone. It seems to me there are players who haven’t understood what it means to wear the Juventus shirt. Jonathan David enters the pitch and trots along: you’re at Juventus in a difficult situation, there needs to be a different attitude. This is what the fans see today: many aren’t giving everything they need.”
Let’s imagine a different present. Which players should have been in Turin?
“I’ll say one: Donnarumma. You shouldn’t have let him escape, like Frattesi, for an Italian path. Now, in the locker room, who says what Juventus is?”.
“I hope so but I understand Giorgio’s responsibilities and his time, which is not easy. I love him so much, I see him as very thin, I always tell him that he has to eat a few more steaks but I know that he is giving his all and you can’t do everything alone. As a fan, I am very afraid of not going to the Champions League.”
Is Spalletti the right person?
“For me, yes, in terms of depth and experience. He needs a lot of confidence. I think he was the only one ready to accept a bench with so many difficulties.”
“For me it was right to take Spalletti.”
Who will win the championship?
“I put Inter and Napoli ahead but Milan have Allegri, a great coach. The coach and the quality of the players were evident in the comeback in Turin.”
Pulisic’s fever match… Ever played with a fever of 38 or 39?
“Yes, with 38 and a half. It was Italy-Holland, Conte’s debut as coach, a friendly match in Bari. At the end of the first half I had a very bad cough, my head was spinning. “Mister, I’m hot”. “Claudio, you have to stay on the pitch”. “But we’re winning 2-0, it’s a friendly match”. And he: “Don’t give up on me now”. I played another 15-20 minutes”.
Curiosity: will Marchisio ever be Juve’s coach?
“I would never accept any bench. When I stopped, watching the boys’ games, I began to open my eyes to what interested me. So I started a journey with Alessandro Tocci, who had become an agent. Our agency is called Circum and follows around twenty prospects. We try to work in a different way, with few profiles, and be present with everyone”.
How can you tell if a footballer is strong?
“I look at those who see beyond, those who understand the game first. And I believe that every federation must protect the youth teams. Much more money should be put into the structures, the youth teams, the coaches.”
How young was Claudio Marchisio?
“I was small, skinny, maybe today no one would have taken me until I was 17-18 years old. I was rejected from the first national teams because, if I took the corners, I didn’t get to the spot. And then I didn’t want to chase the opponent, I didn’t jump headlong because I was afraid of clashes and tackles. One summer, suddenly, I started running: I was never tired, I enjoyed stealing the ball, I had learned to make tackles against giants. I had convinced myself that I could do it.”
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