Claudio Marchisio calls new Juventus signing Federico Bernardeschi “a pure talent” after his €40m move from Fiorentina.
The Italian international joined the Bianconeri on Monday, and his new teammate says he’ll be joining a motivated squad.
“Bernardeschi? Welcome!” Marchisio said in an interview with JTV.
“We Italians know him well, he’s a pure talent who increases the technical level of this team.
“He’s joining a group that wants to win again, and he’ll really help us in reaching new objectives together.”
Juve are currently on a pre-season tour of the USA, and Marchisio gave an update on their preparations.
“This is a classic pre-season in many ways, as it’s been a few years now that the players have returned from holidays at staggered dates.
“This summer tour gives us the chance to visit new cities and, more importantly, to get to know one another thanks to playing matches against big teams such as Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma.
“It’s crucial that this bonding process begins now because, in less than a month, we’ve the first trophy of the season to play for.
“Motivation is high and every day our determination is rubbing off on the new players. We’ve been winning titles for the last six years now, but each season people say it’s going to be more difficult to retain them.
“There’s some truth in that, but while it won’t be easy, we’re made of stern stuff and we’re highly motivated to improve on last year.”
The Italian international missed Euro 2016 and the start of last season with a cruciate ligament injury, but this season he’ll have a full pre-season under his belt.
“I’m working hard to stay on this upward trajectory that I’m on,” Marchisio said.
“In the last two years I had to dedicate so much time to recovering from my knee injury that I wasn’t able to enjoy my holidays.
“This time however, I had a really great summer and when the holidays finished I said to myself: 'now I’m ready for the new season.’
“During pre-season, the workload is high and it's important to know one’s body well, to know how far to push oneself and especially when to take half a day off to rest.”
The Italian international joined the Bianconeri on Monday, and his new teammate says he’ll be joining a motivated squad.
“Bernardeschi? Welcome!” Marchisio said in an interview with JTV.
“We Italians know him well, he’s a pure talent who increases the technical level of this team.
“He’s joining a group that wants to win again, and he’ll really help us in reaching new objectives together.”
Juve are currently on a pre-season tour of the USA, and Marchisio gave an update on their preparations.
“This is a classic pre-season in many ways, as it’s been a few years now that the players have returned from holidays at staggered dates.
“This summer tour gives us the chance to visit new cities and, more importantly, to get to know one another thanks to playing matches against big teams such as Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma.
“It’s crucial that this bonding process begins now because, in less than a month, we’ve the first trophy of the season to play for.
“Motivation is high and every day our determination is rubbing off on the new players. We’ve been winning titles for the last six years now, but each season people say it’s going to be more difficult to retain them.
“There’s some truth in that, but while it won’t be easy, we’re made of stern stuff and we’re highly motivated to improve on last year.”
The Italian international missed Euro 2016 and the start of last season with a cruciate ligament injury, but this season he’ll have a full pre-season under his belt.
“I’m working hard to stay on this upward trajectory that I’m on,” Marchisio said.
“In the last two years I had to dedicate so much time to recovering from my knee injury that I wasn’t able to enjoy my holidays.
“This time however, I had a really great summer and when the holidays finished I said to myself: 'now I’m ready for the new season.’
“During pre-season, the workload is high and it's important to know one’s body well, to know how far to push oneself and especially when to take half a day off to rest.”
![Juventino[RUS]](https://www.juventuz.com/data/avatars/m/5/5409.jpg?1650619365){kind=avatar}
![Juventino[RUS]](https://www.juventuz.com/data/avatars/s/5/5409.jpg?1650619365){kind=avatar}
Forget Bonucci, Marchisio's back!
Football-Italia
Leonardo Bonucci may be gone, but Adam Digby is happy to see a fully recovered Claudio Marchisio leading Juventus.
It has been a busy but confusing few months for Juventus. Fresh from lifting their sixth-consecutive Serie A title, but suffering a heavy Champions League Final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, the summer has been no less tumultuous for the Italian giants. Director general Beppe Marotta and his right-hand man Fabio Paratici have made some superb signings, but the excellent work done in securing new arrivals was at least partially undone by the loss of Leonardo Bonucci.
In seeing their best defender walk away to join Milan, it could reasonably be argued that the comfortable dominance enjoyed by the Old Lady in recent years has been somewhat eroded. The 30-year-old was the linchpin of Juve’s highly regarded backline, but his departure has been offset by the acquisition of Douglas Costa and Federico Bernardeschi.
Just a few days after the gifted former Fiorentina star joined the club, the Bianconeri were given yet another major boost. As the first-team squad flew from Boston to Miami as part of their pre-season tour of the United States, Enrico Zambruno of Juve’s in-house channel JTV sat next to Claudio Marchisio to conduct a brief interview.
“Over the last two years I had to dedicate so much time to recovering from my knee injury that I wasn’t able to enjoy my holidays,” the midfielder – who missed six months with a torn ACL – confessed. “This time however, I had a really great summer and when the holidays finished I said to myself that now I’m ready for the new season!”
While Paulo Dybala may have jokingly interrupted the two men to act as a waiter and serve Marchisio with a drink, the message was a without doubt a very serious one. The Turin native suffered that terrible knee injury during an April 2016 meeting with Palermo and, despite returning to action in October last year, it was clear to see that he wasn’t fully fit.
Making 28 appearances over the 2016-17 campaign, he lasted the full 90+ minutes on just 11 occasions, a far cry from his impactful, energetic best. Yet whenever he was part of the starting XI, there was little doubt that the Bianconeri looked a quicker, sharper team that could transition between attack and defence at a rapid pace. Without him, players such as Sami Khedira, Stefano Sturaro and Mario Lemina were not able to move the ball fast enough, opponents cutting off the supply to Dybala, Juan Cuadrado and Gonzalo Higuain.
It is no surprise therefore that when Juve suffered their most disappointing results, Marchisio was little more than a peripheral figure. He was on the field for just 13 minutes of May’s 3-1 defeat away at Roma, where Max Allegri’s men squandered a chance to secure the title early, then saw a mere 20 minutes of action at the end of the Champions League Final, introduced when Real Madrid were also already 3-1 ahead.
With Bonucci gone but Costa, Bernardeschi and Dybala now all vying to support Higuain in attack – not to mention Marko Pjaca, Mario Mandzukic and Cuadrado – Marchisio’s ability to keep the ball moving forwards will be even more essential. He made 60.7 successful passes per 90 minutes and connected with 87.6% of all his attempts, while his five accurate long balls per game was a higher mark than either Gigi Buffon or Bonucci managed last term.
Indeed, while Allegri has made many tactical alterations since replacing Antonio Conte three years ago, there is no question which switch has been the most rewarding. More than moving away from the three-man defence or adopting a 4-2-3-1 framework back in January, the decision to have Marchisio deputise for Andrea Pirlo sits top of the pile.
Conte used Arturo Vidal or Paul Pogba in that role, preferring to keep Marchisio – with his ability to shuttle back and forth without getting caught out of position – flanking them. Instead, Allegri immediately entrusted the Italian with that role, seeing a dramatic uptick in his passing, yet suffering no drop off in the tactical impact he made.
Now 31 years old, Marchisio still speeds around the pitch, making 2.4 tackles and 2.6 interceptions per 90 minutes, figures that saw him rank above Miralem Pjanic, Khedira, Andrea Barzagli, Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in both categories. What they don’t reflect is the number of times he steps into a void where an opponent wants to pass, denying scoring opportunities and forcing attacks to move elsewhere, away from the danger zone.
“In terms of positioning and tactical intelligence, he’s very valuable to the team,” the Coach said of the Bianconeri No 8 after he returned last season. Much like the player himself, those words were understated and largely overlooked, but simply impossible to ignore.
Claudio Marchisio cannot wait for the new campaign to begin, and Juventus know they are fortunate to be able to rely on him once again.