Marchisio speaks about his first game with Conte

Former Italian national team player Claudio Marchisio shared how Antonio Conte, during his first match as head coach, compelled him to play despite having a high fever. "Yes, my body temperature was 38.5 degrees Celsius.

We were playing a friendly match against the Netherlands in Bari. This was Conte's debut as the national team's coach.

I was feeling unwell due to the high fever. During halftime, I told him: 'Antonio, I am sick.' However, he told me: 'You need to stay on the pitch,' he said.

We were leading 2–0 in the friendly match, and I pointed that out to him. Despite this, he still forced me to play for another 15-20 minutes," Marchisio's comments were reported by *La Gazzetta dello Sport*.

For reference, Marchisio represented the Italian national team from 2009 to 2017. Read “Zamin” on Telegram!