Juventus, Marchisio's father recalls: "His injury? It was the first time I ever saw him cry"

Last April 17, it happened: a torn ACL in his left knee.  Claudio Marchisio has to sit out for a long time, missing the Euros this summer in France. He is closing in on his return to the pitch, but his father-agent Antonio doesn't forget those terrible moments: "That's the worst thing I ever saw happen to my son," - he told Tuttosport - "I was at the stadium that day, and I knew immediately that Claudio tore his ACL. The images that come to my mind are those of him crying, due to the sharp pains in his knee. A week after the surgery, he found out that he had to go under the knife again. That was the first time I saw him cry. He skipped the Scudetto party because he didn't want to risk his injury. His desire to return to the pitch prevailed: 'One touch and we're back to where we started.' It was a wise decision by him and the staff." Marchisio also had to miss out on the Euros: "Missing the Euro's was another blow. Working for two years with one objective, then watching it on TV. These are things that happen in sports. Depression? As a father, these were fears I had, especially at the beginning. Luckily, Claudio never had such a long period of inactivity in his career and he wondered how he would react. He proved to be very strong. His wife Roberta was a great support system. Claudio wasn't depressed for two reasons: family and Juve." "Juventus is Claudio's other love. His strong will and desire to recover well and return to the pitch as soon as possible was decisive in his recovery. When I went to his house, he was always performing the therapy exercises he was told to do. Claudio doesn't fool around: even when Juve loses, he gets very angry. For him, the anger is double: as a player and a fan. Throughout the years, I've learned not to call him for at least two days after a loss." His recovery is going well: "Fingers crossed. He's fine, he'll be happy to be on the field again, practicing with his teammates. But he needs patience. It's one thing to return to practice, but it's another to return to top form." First judgements on his new teammates? "He told me that Higuain is really strong. Then he was very impressed by the dribbling of Pjaca". Obiettivi? Uno porta grandi orecchie: "The sixth scudetto would put him even further in Juventus history, he would be a legend: something that hasn't happened in more than 100 years." @GIANMARCalciO