Claudio Marchisio joined his hometown club at the age of seven and won seven Serie A titles.

Juventus, who defended their league title a fortnight ago, remain in contention for a treble of trophies this season.

Antonio Conte received the threats from angry Juventus fans who blame the coach's training methods for the injury that was initially believed to have sidelined the midfielder for the rest of the season.

Earlier, Marek Hamsik scored his second brace in as many Serie A games and Gonzalo Higuain netted his first goal for Napoli as Rafael Benitez's side won 4-2 at Chievo.

Marchisio also said that Balotelli's impressive performances during the group phase, which included goal-scoring turns against Mexico and Japan, were a sign of the 22-year-old's increasing maturity.

Pirlo, the 34-year-old marking his 100th international appearance, scored the opener and Balotelli grabbed the winner in a 2-1 victory over Mexico.

He has scored 10 goals this season, including winners against AC Milan, Lazio and Palermo, and was instrumental in Juventus' league title winning campaign.

Italy striker Mario Balotelli and German forward Marco Reus hit two goals each as their respective national side beat Malta and Kazakhstan.

Napoli's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani is the league's top scorer on 17 goals, but Parma midfielder Marco Marchionni warned: "When we face the big teams we always give a little more, and maybe we need this at this time." Lazio's 1-1 draw with Juventus in the first leg semi-final of the Italian Cup in midweek was their second in a week after they were held 2-2 ...

Atalanta were reduced to 10 men before the half hour when Thomas Manfredini was red carded for a second bookable offence after a rash challenge on defender Giorgio Chiellini.