30 March 2017
Career so far a source of pride
“I’m very proud to have begun my career here at Juventus and risen as high as I have over the course of time. Looking back on it all, it’s been an incredible journey.
“It’s a cause of pride for me and my parents, as I had to make many sacrifices back then just as I’m having to do now with the support of my family.”
The moment I knew I’d make it as a professional footballer?
“Napoli vs Juventus in Serie B. It was already the second or third match of the season, but I put in a big performance that day and from there I felt truly ready for what lay ahead.
“That whole period of growing up with Juve was like a living dream.”
Always up for European nights
“Even if we tend to be playing in the Champions League in between very busy and often decisive moments of the league season, in the hours before these huge games one never fails to discover that energy or adrenaline that are absolutely crucial for these kinds of matches.
“It’s normal that coming up against top-class teams and players has this kind of positive effect on us.”
Barcelona and beyond
“True revenge would have been to beat Barcelona in a final, not a quarter-final. In any case, it’s not our objective to overcome Barcelona for revenge, but to get past them en route to Cardiff. This needs to be our aim.”
Marchisio and social media
“When I started out playing as a youngster, there was very little in the way of social media, but now it’s everywhere.
“My favourite platform would have to be Instagram because it allows you to relive a place you’ve been, but it also often reveals the state of mind of the person at the time they took or posted a photo."
Napoli up next
“Many of our players have been busy on international duty over the past week, so it’s important that we regroup quickly and kick on our league season with a very important match against Napoli.
“While it’s true that we already hold a healthy advantage over our title rivals in the table, these kinds of games still represent crucial moments within the Scudetto race, so right now we need to give our undivided attentions to Sunday and only after that should we be thinking about Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final.”
Forza, Marko
“To sustain such an injury is certainly not easy for Marko and it comes at such an important time of the season, a bit like with my injury last season when I missed out on the final weeks of our Scudetto-winning campaign and then the European Championships in the summer.
“It’s never easy at the start, but he needs to try to stay as calm as possible, as he’s a lad with great principles, he’s young and there’s time on his side to recover from this and demonstrate what a top talent he is in the future.”
Something I’d like to pull off on the pitch?
“Score a goal from the halfway line! I managed that with the Primavera against Salernitana from the kick-off, but I’ve not pulled it off with the first-team yet. It’s more difficult now as goalkeepers are especially careful not to let themselves get embarrassed these days!”
