17 August 2018
Today marks the end of Claudio Marchisio’s Juventus career following the agreed termination of his contract.
Twenty-five years have passed since Claudio put on the black and white shirt for the very first time. He was aged just seven with a mad desire to play for his hometown club and a head full of dreams.
His dream back then, as he has so often retold, was to wear the very same shirt in front of thousands of fans, fighting for the most coveted trophies that the beautiful game has to offer.
After winning with the youth teams, the highly promising midfielder made his first-team debut in the most difficult year of all – that of Serie B. A season with Empoli followed before Claudio was back in Turin and meaning business. Il Principino had waited for his chance to shine and was about to seize it with both hands.
From the moment he netted his maiden goal for the club against Fiorentina – the first of 37 strikes in black and white – Claudio never looked back. He had always said he should score more, and his double-figure haul in 2011/12 proved that he was as good as his word.
Even more, Claudio wanted to win things, and he did just that. In lifting three Italian Super Cups, four Coppa Italia trophies and seven consecutive Scudetti, he helped to rewrite the club’s history books forever.
Moreover, his 389 appearances in the black and white mean he sits 18thin the club’s all-time list of highest-capped footballers.
With every battle competed, every ripple of the net and every trophy raised, his childhood dreams kept coming true. In truth, we all lived our dreams side by side with Claudio. Watching him grow and become, year after year, a man, husband and father filled all of us Bianconeri with a unique sense of gratification.
Having had the opportunity to accompany him on this path, to discover a homegrown champion, day by day, was quite simply a privilege and an honour.
And it will be a pleasure to keep following him, with whichever shirt he will wear in the future. For the black and white stripes, as we know, will always form an indelible part of him and his story.
Thanks for everything, Claudio! We wish you the very best!
