Marchisio and racism on Vlahovic: “The Atalantini of the same ethnic group had to take a stand”

TURIN – The fight against racism, the youth of Juventus, the future of the black and whites but also an eye on the Champions League and the Milan derby. Claudio Marchisio has opened the doors of his new business in the center of Turin, a barbershop of the chain Barberino’schatting about football, about the joy of seeing a team play as well as the Naples but also of the problems that afflict him: “You don’t joke against racism, you have to go down hard. It is necessary to change the regulation”. With a note also to Gasperini’s words pronounced at the end of Atalanta-Juventus: “Sorry, with reference to Gasperini’s words on Pasalic and the other players of the same ethnic group as Vlahovic, that there hasn’t been a reaction on their part. An opponent taking a position against his curve saying “Sorry, I’m of the same ethnicity and I have your shirt. Why are you doing this?”.

The question of racism and the rules of football

Straight for straight. This is the path chosen by the former Juventus midfielder to tell his thoughts on racism, on the chants at Vlahovic and the howls at Lukaku. Not only that, given that for Marchisio the most serious problem is silence, already experienced in other situations: “I take for example Kostic and the case emerged a Spice. We all remained silent because he had no reaction and did not ask to suspend the match. That is a mistake, silence, even more serious than talking about it as we have done now. You have to be very strict. There was an episode in too Hollandduring a game ofAjax, and many have been arrested. You have to have a tough fist and the rules have to be changed. You can’t wait for a player to reach disqualification to remove the yellow card, moreover, because he is a victim like others before him. The spotlight and the attention present in football are known: the problem is the minor leagues, the streets. If we don’t give weight to the statements, the kids who listen won’t give weight to the sentences. You don’t have to be soft at all”. Indulging himself in a reflection on the fate of the players: “If Vlahovic went to play for Atalanta and scored thirty goals, the same fools who make racist chants would rejoice. We have a duty to talk about it but the regulation must also be changed. The match must be stopped immediately.”

Juventus youth and Fagioli’s late explosion

Something is changing. Slowly, one step at a time, but some good prospects for the future can be glimpsed. Marchisio is also convinced of this, a product of the Juventus youth sector who exploded in the very team in which he grew up and which he has always supported. A path similar to that of Miretti and Fagioli: “Considerations must be made on Fagioli. Kvaratskhelia he’s the same age as him and he helped Napoli win the Scudetto. For me Fagioli is even late, not so much for Juventus but for Italian football. A talent like him should blossom first, he has the possibilities but he has taken a different path. Unfortunately in big clubs, and I was an example of this, a crisis is needed to give young people an opportunity. Wearing the Juve shirt in a difficult season, they not only showed their qualities but they proved they can handle the weight of the shirt.”

Juventus season below expectations

Already speaking of the youth season, he used an eloquent term: crisis. Juventus’ season hasn’t been positive in terms of results, even if there’s still time to win a European trophy: “It would be important for the group that did poorly in the Champions League, they’ve never been in the running for the Scudetto. Raising a such a cup could help young people who have never won anything and veterans who would lift a European cup that Juventus has been missing for a long time”. After underlining Allegri’s merits in keeping the bar to starboard in this tormented season, Marchisio underlines, as a former and a fan, the sore points and the rumors about a possible change on the bench: “The season was full of facets, but elimination from the Champions League could bring about a change. There were the World Cup, that month and a half would have been the right time to possibly change the coach. But a coach and manager like Allegri must be recognized for having been good at keeping the team intact, I expect that it goes beyond what is done on the pitch. As a fan, I cannot consider the season enough, also considering the value of my former team-mates in the squad. I hope that this week, with the first match against Sevilla, there will be the first step to get to a final”. The path in the Europa League was born precisely from the painful elimination in the Champions League, the real vulnerability of the season: “If with regards to the group, the elimination was a very serious thing, for single matches and performances. Juve have strong players, champions of Europe, the world… You can’t fail to reach the last 16. But it happened and Juventus were good at not falling apart when the penalty came in. This is the great merit of a club that has the DNA to react to such hard blows But the players and the coach know they haven’t given what they’re worth.”

The Champions League derby and Spalletti’s Napoli

In addition to Juventus, in the semifinals of the Europa League with Roma on the other side of the scoreboard, there are also the two Milanese who will compete for access to the Champions League final: “If I look at the squad and how they get to the semifinals, I would say that “Inter are favorites. Milan, however, have beaten Napoli three times between the league and the Champions League in one month, they have the cup in their DNA, even if they have a smaller squad. They know how to win matches, they have a manager (Maldini, ed) which has won more cups than many clubs. The most serious defection is that of Leao, I think they want to recover him for the return leg: there will be pressure, it’s the derby and the fans know how important it is. But Italian football will have a finalist and that’s wonderful”. Beautiful like Spalletti’s Napoli game, the surprise of the season, the most welcome for those who love football. A team that focused little on turnover, a choice that paid off long: “It is normal that if one has a longer blanket, in the phases of a season, one can count on important spare parts. But it’s only an Italian thought: Benzema, Modric don’t miss matches. Maybe it’s the coaches mentality to keep balance in the dressing room. Great players can play all matches, as demonstrated by Real, Suarez’s Barcelona, ​​Messi and Neymar, three who had no injuries. In our country we create much more pressure: an injury can come from stress and pressure. In that respect Spalletti helped a lot, who had a period without Osimhen but whoever replaced him did well. It was the identity that Spalletti gave that changed history.”