Claudio Marchisio says there’s no need for badges or contracts to consider him a Juventino and reveals his plans for the future.
Speaking to Juventus news site JuventusNews24, Marchisio discussed his youth career in black and white and his involvement in Futsal.
First of all: how are you? This period has taught us to value this question more.
“You’re right…. If there’s one thing I hope this period has taught is undoubtedly to give more value to human relationships and to that sense of community that we were losing.”
The emergency has definitively stopped the youth championships, isn’t it a great pity for the growth of so many kids? Will it affect their path?
“I think our children’s health is the most important thing. This is a very mature choice in my opinion, children and their families must be able to rest easy. Remember that football must remain fun, an educational tool but never a profession. I don’t think it will affect the growth path, it is a generalized phenomenon that has affected everyone equally. There will be a way to make up for this time.”
You who grew up at Juventus, can you tell us why you have the feeling that the ‘Juventus youth’ path makes you quickly become a man even before being a footballer?
“My experience fortunately led me to wear only one shirt, so I am not able to make a comparison between Juve and the other clubs. Surely its undeniable that Juventus places itself as a real school towards its boys. In which, respect for roles and rules is taught, seriousness in the educational process and a little healthy competition or perhaps better to call it ambition. As a boy, I don’t hide the fact that I have always felt much more mature than my peers, and this aspect has also had implications for my personal and family life choices.”
Was there a time when young Claudio understood that the dream of wearing the Juve shirt could also become his ‘career’ ? Has anything changed since then?
“I am not saying this out of false modesty. But the moment I understood that football could become a job was the first year since returning from loan at Empoli. I hear of guys who feel like footballers at 16/17 years old, but let’s look at the statistics and the percentage of people who manage to make this passion their profession. Personally, that was the moment when I realized that I could be a professional footballer and in my mind I started not wanting to become a footballer any more, but wanting to win as many trophies as possible, the next level had taken off.”
Your former coach Gianlugi Gentile told us some time ago of a regional final in the Allievi against Torino in which you wanted to be there at all costs, recovering quickly after a month and a half of injury. How special is it for a Turin player to play the Mole derby?
“I consider the derby one of the most important matches, as a Turin born player it has always been the first big challenge since childhood. The game you were looking for on the calendar first in any category. I have always lived the derby with great passion, I believe that the Torino fans have always appreciated, even in Serie A, the great respect I have always had for this match and the way I lived the challenge.”
As a kid you were a striker, then they changed your role: how did things go? Did you immediately accept the decision?
“The change of role was perhaps luck, even if I loved being an attacker and scoring goals. However, I have always had great respect for my coaches, I trusted the choice, I applied and committed myself. Always listen to the coaches, making you grow is their job.”
Is there any advice that you received when you were young that has come in handy throughout your career as a footballer?
“Yes, that of learning to play with both the right and the left. In modern football I believe that tactical intelligence and ductility are fundamental requirements. Also, always giving everything in training, the game is nothing more than the expression of what happens in the week, learning how to manage as many situations as possible in training creates greater confidence with the events that happen in the game and allows you to be able to dominate them.”
You recently revealed that you have a course as a sports manager in your head: would you see yourself heading a youth sector in the future?
“Right now I want to study to be ready for the possibilities that will arise, regardless of the sectors and contexts”.
Do you dream of a second life for Juventus in a managerial role?
“My life at Juventus is, and will always be, one. There is no need for badges or contracts to consider me a Juventino. ”
How do you explain that for many years, young people who grew up in the Juve youth sector did not reach the first team?
“Sometimes we tend to underestimate the difficulty of a path like this. The explanation is very simple: as the competition grows more and more, the market boundaries have also widened among young people and every year being on the list of boys selected to progress to the next step becomes increasingly complicated. Young people from all over the world would like to come and play at Juventus and this desire grows with increasing age. Being a boy from Turin who has managed to make the path he has is a source of great pride for me.”
Curious about your entry into the world of futsal through the L84 project, can you better tell us about your new adventure and what pushed you towards 5-a-side football?
“I am always looking for new and exciting projects in the business sector. A serious company pushed me, and the desire to do something for my city. I think the L84 is an engaging project and I hope that the people of Turin will respond with great passion. That they adopt the team and that together we can have fun and take away some satisfaction.”
Does the future of the Italian sports company go by the concept of a sports club?
“Not necessarily. Sport is an element of exaltation of local cultures. I like reading about small towns that dominate volleyball, basketball etc .. The presence of these disciplines in these towns allows you to grow a movement, to create a generation of talents and to spread the passion for these disciplines…”
In Italy there are many coaches, why less and less sports managers?
“We are convinced that a former footballer can do anything within the world of football, but its not so. Each profession requires specific skills and not necessarily the fact of being a footballer at high levels who is automatically synonymous with preparation in other contexts. Sometimes we jump into the easier choice, but the post-career is a decision that must be carefully considered and for which it is necessary to prepare in the best possible way.”
Let’s close with a look at the national team: Tonali, Chiesa, Zaniolo … are they the Azzurri of the future?
“The national team is having a good time at youth level. In addition to them I also think of Barella, Castrovilli and many other interesting young players. But since we talked about Juve’s youth sector I also add Nicolussi Caviglia and Fagioli.”
