Claudio Marchisio

Five days after his 23rd birthday, he scored his first Serie A goal, the match-winner against Fiorentina.

Less than a week later, he was rewarded with an improved five-year contract extension.

His season was interrupted by a series of minor injuries in April, which resulted in him being sidelined for almost a month, and he returned to the starting eleven for the penultimate matchday away at Siena, marking it with a goal and an assist for captain Alessandro Del Piero's second goal of the match in a 0–3 win and then setting up Vincenzo Iaquinta's opener in a 2–0 home win against Lazio, a result that ensured a second-place finish for the Bianconieri.

When the season ended, he was continuously linked with various clubs, but Director of Sport Alessio Secco ended all speculation by listing him as one of the "untouchable" players.

His good performances did not go unnoticed by Italian national team coach Marcello Lippi, who later handed him his senior international debut.

Marchisio continued to be first choice under Ciro Ferrara and later Alberto Zaccheroni mainly due to his versatility and consistency in midfield.

Claudio Marchisio ( born 19 January 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

During the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, he was called up to train with the first team numerous times by Fabio Capello and given a squad number.

He made the bench for the game away at Cagliari but remained an unused substitute.

Later that season, he captained the Primavera side to their first Campionato Nazionale Primavera title in 12 years and a runner-up finish at the Viareggio Tournament in his last full season with the Primavera squad.

After being included in the preseason friendlies, Marchisio was promoted to the first team permanently following Juventus' relegation to Serie B due to the Calciopoli scandal and given the number 15 shirt.

On 19 August 2006, he made his first team debut in the Coppa Italia third round, coming on as a late substitute for Matteo Paro in a 3–0 win over Martina.

In September, he captained the Primavera team for the last time in the Supercoppa Primavera, thrashing old rivals Internazionale 5–1.

He then made his league debut on 28 October against Frosinone as a late substitute for David Trezeguet and made his first start in the following match against Brescia.

As the season progressed, he established himself in Didier Deschamps' side and ended the season as first-choice central midfielder.

He capped a fine season with an assist for Del Piero's match opener in the 5–1 thrashing of Arezzo, a result which secured immediate promotion to Serie A mathematically.

On 25 July 2007, Marchisio was loaned out to Empoli for the 2007–08 season with good friend and fellow youth product Sebastian Giovinco to gain first-team experience.

He made his Serie A debut on 26 August against Fiorentina and European debut the following month in the UEFA Cup against FC Zürich.

Although he did not score any goals, he tallied two vital assists and was a regular starter when available for the Tuscan club under both Luigi Cagni and Alberto Malesani.

Unfortunately, Empoli were unable to avoid relegation and he was recalled to Turin by the recently appointed manager Claudio Ranieri.

At the international level, Marchisio has represented Italy at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups; he also took part at UEFA Euro 2012, winning a runners-up medal, and at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he won a third-place medal.

After making his breakthrough in the 2008–09 season, Marchisio was often compared to former Juventus and Italian midfielder Marco Tardelli by the Italian press, due to his energy, tenacious style of play, and good reading of the game, as well as his ability to seamlessly switch between offence and defence.

His preferred position was in central midfield but his versatility led to him playing in a variety of positions in midfield throughout his career to suit various formations.

Born in Turin, to a father from Piedmont and a mother from Sicily, Marchisio is the youngest of three children and was raised in the comuni of Chieri and Andezeno, where his parents run a family business and continue to reside.

His family were Juventus fans and season ticket holders and he used to be a ball boy at the Stadio delle Alpi.

As a child, he was interested in various sports and joined the youth football team at Fiat's satellite sports club Sisport, where he was later scouted by Juventus youth coaches at the age of seven.

A talented middle-distance runner and skier, he began vocational training as a surveyor after the mandatory schooling age of 16, in case his football career did not work out, but eventually dropped out to concentrate on football.

While in the youth system, Marchisio played as a forward and as a trequartista (offensive midfielder), modeling himself after his childhood hero Alessandro Del Piero, until he was switched to a deeper midfield role at the age of 16, due to his slender physique.

After his impressive performances for Empoli, Marchisio returned to Juventus for the 2008–09 campaign and made an impressive Champions League debut, playing the full 90 minutes against Artmedia Petržalka in the Champions League third qualifying round, second leg.

In November, former Milan and Fiorentina striker Stefano Borgonovo wrote about him on La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Marchisio has everything needed to play at the highest level...[He] has personality, reminds me of the great Marco Tardelli."

Under Ranieri, he eventually established himself as first-choice due to injuries and lackluster performances from other midfielders.

He further established himself in the starting eleven after a man-of-the-match game against Milan in pouring rain that earned him rave reviews from the media.

He quickly became a firm favourite amongst the Bianconeri fans and they voted him as their Player of the Month for December on the club website.

In total, he made 55 appearances for Italy at senior level between 2009 and 2017, scoring five goals.

During the beginning of the 2009–10 season, he had a good run of form, winning Man of the Match awards in four consecutive matches and being voted Player of the Month for September by registered members on the club website but picked up a knee injury in the loss to Palermo at the beginning of October.

After surgery, he was sidelined for one month and a half and made his comeback as a last-minute substitute in the Champions League group stage tie away at Bordeaux on 25 November.

On 5 December 2009, he scored the winner in a 2–1 home win over Internazionale in the Derby d'Italia, where he showed incredible composure to drag the ball with both feet before dinking it over the stranded Júlio César.

Three days later, he set up David Trezeguet to score the opening goal of the game in the decisive Champions League 1–4 home loss against Bayern Munich.

A product of the Juventus youth system, he spent a large portion of his career at his hometown club, with the exception of a season-long loan spell at Empoli, winning seven consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2018, and four consecutive Coppa Italia titles between 2015 and 2018.

He was the club's second vice-captain, behind Giorgio Chiellini, before his contract was terminated in 2018 and then signed with Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg, where he stayed for one season, before retiring from professional football in 2019.