Del Piero: ‘I called Marchisio’

By Football Italia staff

Alessandro Del Piero reveals he called Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio after his knee injury.

The Bianconeri legend suffered a cruciate ligament injury of his own against Udinese in 1998, and saw his ex-teammate suffer the same blow against Palermo on Sunday.

Marchisio underwent surgery this morning, and is expected to be out for six months, and Pinturicchio sent a message to the Italian international.

“I called him and talked to him,” Del Piero confirmed to Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Unfortunately something devastating happened to him on the eve of the very important European Championship.

“I’m sorry for him, but he mustn’t forget that he’s young and - even if it sounds like a cliché - you come back stronger from injuries like this.

“I know one thing: my injury was even worse than Claudio’s, and I played for many more years and got a lot of satisfaction.”

Del Piero won eight Scudetti and the Champions League in over 700 appearances for the Old Lady, and discussed the remarkable comeback that has left the Turin giants on the verge of the Scudetto.

“It was a great comeback, a Juve comeback, but I wasn’t surprised because [Max] Allegri’s is a strong team.

“A few days ago I said I’d be surprised if Juve let the Scudetto slip and it turns out I wasn’t wrong.

“The Champions League? This year it wasn’t possible, next year we’ll see. It’s definitely one of the objectives of the club.

Finally, the former striker offered words of praise to Juve winger Juan Cuadrado.

“As a player I’ve liked and admired him since he was at Fiorentina,” Del Piero revealed.

“He has incredible talent, and to see him in action gives joy to so many people.”

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