Elegance according to Claudio Marchisio

Enclosed in his elegance and gentleness, I understand immediately that Claudio Marchisio is not a player like the others. He is composed, almost a hymn to perfection in his every move, and given his physical prowess, one still wonders why he retired so early. There is one memory of the ex-Juventus midfielder that has always stuck in my mind, despite not being particularly close to the Bianconeri colours, it is a frame that is impossible to get rid of. It's 2011 and Juventus in the rain are struggling against a closed Udinese more than ever. It's already past the first hour of the game when the ball in the box rises almost suddenly, thanks to a strange bounce, and Marchisio, without thinking, launches himself into a half-volley. Needless to say, the ball went into the corner, taking an incredible trajectory in the rain that was beginning to become annoying.

It's not a goal that will go down in the annals of football, but it was certainly a great technical move, tried and tested several times during training, he adds. Of course, you also have to be lucky, the ball must always arrive in a certain way and you have to be ready, not a problem for Marchisio this.

An icon of style, of a classic elegance, these are all things that you could only understand by watching him on TV, but in person you can only confirm all these sensations. It is no coincidence or just a question of economics that they chose the former footballer, who before starting the interview - on the occasion of the launch of the new campaign for RED, the historic Italian hosiery company founded in 1938 - wants to take some time to get to know the person in front of him. After various memories and sentimentality, we set off, with the calmness and calmness that distinguishes him, he begins our interview divided between fashion, football and the future.

Reading the history of RED you can see how the brand is founded on unique values, a real family, born with Mario and Carla and grown with their grandchildren and made great by the work of its employees. What particularly links RED to Claudio Marchisio?

I start from the fact that any relationship I have, whether with people or of a commercial nature, I always try to establish something as real and long-lasting as possible, I don't like those hit and runs, I prefer in these cases not to even start. And we're talking about a historic company, soon to be a hundred years old, where there has been a lot of work and sacrifice behind it, so these things had already convinced me, all of which is of great value to me. Then there are the details, the attention to sustainability, to social issues, all things I have dealt with in my career, which I have never been afraid to talk about.

Your nickname says it all: "Principino". You've always had a special relationship with fashion, you've starred in campaigns with Armani and many others. So I ask you, are there any brands or designers you prefer more than others?

No, to tell you the truth, there aren't, I don't have one in particular, there's nothing I couldn't do without. There are definitely items I can't do without or other little things, like socks, where I've discovered, even for a classic person like me, that certain colours can represent a mood or a phase of your life or day. Then actually also glasses, linked to the fact that I have light eyes so I can't drive without them, but like hats or the unstructured jackets of the great Giorgio (Armani). It's not a question of brands or anything else, it's a question based on the details that are always very important to me, in everything from fashion to football, training, perfecting a technical gesture to everyday life. Details, at least in my experience, have always made the difference, in my path.

You have anticipated one of the next questions one of the next questions: what are the clothes you can't do without?

Let's start from the assumption that men can't invent much compared to women, there is a more limited choice, but if we have to talk about something that is not so obvious, it's definitely the jacket, the shirt and the watch, they are things that I dwell on a lot more, they can sometimes go unnoticed but for me they have a certain importance. 

Remaining in the world of football and fashion, is there a player who has been an icon or a man of image, past or present, who has inspired you or whom you have admired for his style?

In the world of football as well as all other people who have the money to buy certain clothes, they may think they look good or are fashionable, but often this is not the case. Fashion is knowing how to wear things in my opinion, it's not a question of money, it's more a question of seeing and imagining a garment hanging in a shop and thinking how it might look on you. Not everyone knows how to wear certain garments, so it also becomes a personal thing, you need a certain naturalness, a certain empathy. If I have to find a player in the world of football, I can only cite David Beckham, who I think has been on the perfect path, because in life you are not born a style icon. Each of us has a path, maybe you go from outfits that are a bit 'makeup' then slowly you begin to understand certain things. As it was for me, when I was twenty I had a totally different taste. You have to make a path and then get to express the best of your identity that each of us has inside and according to the age you have, because tastes may change, but in the end the way you wear or see something is always the same. There are those who can wear a tank top and ripped jeans in the same way with a unique lift as a sixty-year-old man in a double-breasted suit. The difference lies in this and few sometimes recognise it.

We have seen many collaborations over the years, just think of your Juventus team that has collaborated with Palace or PSG that has also been sponsored by Jordan for years, what do you think of this football-fashion relationship? Can it evolve further?

Yes, fashion is winking at the world of football, partly because sportspeople in general have become style icons and so some clubs are starting to get more visibility and now have a clientele that ranges from youngsters to 35-year-olds. The clientele certainly allows all this, especially for the big brands. These brands manage to bring a bit of freshness to a world where it's not at all easy, where sportsmen and women are seen dressed in a vulgar way or in overalls, but in this case the meeting of two different worlds manages to bring out something interesting that also excites the sports fan.

Let's return to one of your favourite habitats, football of course. You have plenty of league appearances to spare, goals maybe a little less since you are still a midfielder and confined slightly behind the opponent's goal. So I ask you what is your favourite goal or the one you remember with most pleasure?

There are a lot of them, but you said the right thing, there aren't many goals I've scored, so you can remember them well or poorly and tie a memory to each one. There are many goals, the first in the league, in the Champions League, in a World Cup, the one when my son Leonardo was born. But at the end of the day I think the one that gave me that extra something was the double in the derby. Not so much for the rivalry, but for the simple reason that I was born and grew up in Turin and Juve-Toro has always been the match, since I was young it was always the most important match of the year, it wasn't like now that the youth teams travel a lot, they play the Champions League and abroad, we didn't play those matches. So Toro became the game of the year, it was a final. In my first years as a professional Juventus were in Serie B and Toro were in Serie A, the following year we swapped categories so I hadn't played against them professionally for a few years. Then the first derby I played as a professional we won with a double of mine, it was a bit like closing a circle since that guy who was in Turin a long time ago had decided to choose the Juve side. Then one was also a header, unexpected for me, I think it's the goal I'll always remember most.

Seeing this year's championship and the jerseys of the clubs, such as Inter who have abandoned the stripes or Juve who return with a yellow and blue jersey inspired by Turin and the 90s and its city, up to going outside our borders as Barcelona who made a shirt with iridescent crests or Chelsea with its op art. What do you think of this new aesthetic and in general of the jerseys of today?

I think it's right to change, it's right to create interest, because you have to change the merchandising every year so that you don't always have the same shirt and sell more. But on the other hand, for the nostalgic, a bit like me, the colours should never be separated from the true history of the club, so if Juventus has always been black and white and the colours of the city are yellow and blue and have always been its colours, ok change the way, change the cloth how you prepare it but I think the importance of maintaining its history should always be there. When you opt for military or fluorescent jerseys, I can understand that, but I repeat, I'm nostalgic, when you bring out the jerseys of the past on your page, they are more beautiful (laughs ed).

In conclusion, what are Marchisio's plans for the near future? 

It pains me to say it, but you always think that a former footballer returns to the world of football, but it is not always so, at the moment I am following other paths, I do not know if I will return, I have my own activities and for now I focus on doing well those, who knows, I have no idea maybe one day fashion could be part of my future.