Two seasons ago, under Ferrara and Zaccheroni, Marchisio was one of the few bright spots of the team. With Nedved having retired, Camo injured and inconsistent and with Melo and Sissoko being unreliable, Marchisio looked really sharp in a few games and was the only reliable component of the midfield, and this is when I started to hype him. He had put in a few good games the season before, such as the one against Milan and also when subbed in against Chelsea away. I was sure the World Cup was going to be his big breakthrough.
Last season was a bit of a disappointment and highlighted his main weakness. Some of his best performances earlier seasons were when everyone else failed or when he played alongside Sissoko. The latter partnership wasn't always the best but it forced Marchisio to take some responsibility and make things happen by himself. Not to mention that neither the strikers or the other attacking players were all that reliable.
This season, we suddenly had Aquilani, Krasic and a new-born Melo alongside Quag/Matri and Claudio disappeared a bit regardless of the position he played in. He's better on the ball than given credit for but last season he'd rather take the simple path and give it to one of the above to do the hard work. I hope Conte finds a way to slot him into the team because I still remember enough of his non-"invisible" (never gets old...) games to believe he can live up to some of the hype and have a very good career with us.
