Miralem Pjanić was one of the main guests at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, where he spoke at length to La Gazzetta dello Sport about the most important moments of his career. The former Juventus midfielder talked about free-kick specialists, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, his great years in Turin, the painful Champions League final in Cardiff, his relationship with Massimiliano Allegri and his experience at Barcelona.
He also devoted a special part of the conversation to the current Juventus team and Kerim Alajbegović, in whose move to Turin he himself played an important role.
THE SECRET OF FREE KICKS? “TRAINING, TRAINING AND MORE TRAINING”
One of the unavoidable topics was free kicks, a trademark of Pjanić's career. He was heavily influenced by Juninho Pernambucano, with whom he played in Lyon. Pjanić did not only watch him when he took free kicks, but also paid attention to how he trained and behaved off the pitch.
When asked what it takes to take the perfect free kick, his answer was simple:
“Training, training and more training.”
Among the Italian masters, he particularly singled out Andrea Pirlo and Siniša Mihajlović, while among today's players he believes that Paulo Dybala is the best free-kick taker.
MESSI, RONALDO AND TOTTI – PJANIĆ HAS NO DOUBTS
There are few footballers who can say they shared a dressing room with Francesco Totti, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Pjanić can – and that is why he was directly asked who he would put in first place.
His choice is Lionel Messi.
“I put Messi in first place.”
Pjanić explained that during their year together at Barcelona, he was fascinated by how natural everything looked for the Argentine. When it comes to Ronaldo, with whom he spent two seasons at Juventus, he has a different kind of admiration – especially because of his mentality, work ethic and refusal to ever give up.
“All young players should take him as an example.”
He particularly regrets not winning the Champions League with Cristiano, because he believes that Juventus team had the quality to go all the way.
RONALDO TAKES THE BALL – AND THERE IS NO ARGUMENT
Pjanić also told an interesting anecdote from his Juventus days. Before Ronaldo's arrival, free-kick duties were mainly shared between him and Dybala. With the Portuguese arriving, the rules changed.
“When Cristiano arrived, there was nothing left for anyone else. He would come over and take the ball.”
Pjanić recalled with a smile a match against Napoli. Ronaldo was fouled, and Allegri immediately sent the medical staff onto the pitch, forcing the Portuguese to briefly leave the game. Pjanić finally got his chance to take the free kick – and scored. His message to Allegri after telling the story was short:
“Thank you, Max.”
CARDIFF STILL HURTS: “THAT SHOT IS STILL IN MY HEAD”
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation concerned the 2017 Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid. Pjanić had a big chance early in the match, but Keylor Navas made an excellent save to stop his shot. Years later, Pjanić has not forgotten it.
“That shot is still in my head.”
He believes the final score of 4-1 did not realistically reflect what happened on the pitch. Juventus had its periods of dominance, but Real had more experience in managing the key moments of major European matches.
“It was a huge disappointment that we lost that match. We believed we could do it.”
Interestingly, Pjanić does not believe that the Cardiff team was the strongest Juventus side he played for. He claims that Juventus had an even deeper squad in the seasons that followed – practically two teams capable of winning the Scudetto.
ALLEGRI CHANGED HIM: “HE MADE ME A DIFFERENT PLAYER”
Pjanić does not hide how much Massimiliano Allegri influenced his career. The Italian coach changed his position and the way he viewed the game, but above all he gave him greater discipline and tactical responsibility.
“He made me a different player, more serious and more disciplined on the pitch.”
Pjanić says Allegri was one of the most important coaches in his career and that they have remained friends to this day. He particularly remembers a Juventus team full of attacking quality which, despite having so many creative players, was willing to sacrifice itself defensively.
The Bianconeri were so confident in themselves that they did not simply want to avoid conceding a goal – they wanted to not allow their opponents even a shot on goal.
BARCELONA WAS A DREAM, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK OUT WITH KOEMAN
After four years at Juventus, the time came for Barcelona. Pjanić revealed that the Catalan club had wanted him even earlier, and playing at Camp Nou alongside Messi represented the fulfillment of a dream. At the same time, he felt that his cycle at Juventus had come to an end and that a change would be good for both sides. However, his spell at Barcelona did not turn out the way he had imagined.
“With Koeman, I simply couldn't find common ground.”
He stressed that there was no major individual incident between them, but he did not like the way the coach treated the players. Pjanić admits that he regrets not leaving a bigger mark at the club he had dreamed of playing for.
PJANIĆ ON THE CURRENT JUVENTUS: FIRST, A RETURN TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Naturally, the conversation could not pass without questions about the current Juventus team. Pjanić believes the Bianconeri are improving, but he does not want to put unnecessary pressure on Spalletti's team by talking about the Scudetto.
“It is still too early to talk about the Scudetto when it comes to Juventus.”
Pjanić points to the complicated previous season and believes the first major objective must be a return to the Champions League. If an opportunity arises during the season for Juventus to enter the title race, he believes the club must take it.
PJANIĆ WAS KEY TO ALJABEGOVIĆ'S MOVE TO JUVENTUS
For Juventus fans, perhaps the most interesting part of the conversation came when Kerim Alajbegović was mentioned. Pjanić confirmed that he was directly involved in the entire story. Kerim's family reached out to him for advice and wanted Miralem to be close to the young player while he was making one of the most important decisions of his career so far.
And Juventus was not the only club interested.
“Chelsea came very close to getting the deal done.”
However, Alajbegović himself wanted to continue his career in Italy. Several Italian clubs showed interest, but Kerim ultimately chose Juventus. Pjanić says that he is now proud whenever he sees the young footballer wearing the black-and-white shirt and believes he will give Juventus fans plenty of reasons to be happy.
“WHEN ALAJBEGOVIĆ HAS THE BALL, SOMETHING ALWAYS HAPPENS”
Pjanić specifically explained what impresses him so much about the young footballer. It is not just his technique, but his mentality. According to Pjanić, Alajbegović does not receive the ball simply to pass it back and hide from responsibility. His first instinct is to attack the opponent.
“When he has the ball, something always happens.”
Pjanić believes that kind of personality is very rare for a player who is only 19 years old. At the same time, he warns that Juventus and its fans must not expect Kerim to win matches on his own already. He needs time to learn and develop. According to Pjanić, the goal should be for him to stay at Juventus for as long as possible, and he also says that the club are very happy to have him in the squad.
PJANIĆ WARNS JUVENTUS: “WRITE DOWN THE NAME OF HIS YOUNGER BROTHER”
Pjanić then went one step further and practically offered another scouting tip.
“Write down the name of Alajbegović's younger brother.”
He is referring to Emre Alajbegović, born in 2013, who is developing within Bayer Leverkusen's system. Pjanić believes he is still very young, but he expects people to be talking about him a lot in the future.
FROM “LITTLE PRINCE” TO “THE PIANIST” – THE JUVENTUS CONNECTION LIVES ON
Francesco Totti once called him the “Little Prince,” while he later became known as “The Pianist,” and he won his biggest trophies in Italy wearing the Juventus shirt. In Trento, Pjanić opened up about almost every major football topic of his career – from Roma and Juventus, to Messi, Ronaldo and Allegri, Barcelona and the final in Cardiff. But perhaps the most interesting thing is that even after the end of his playing career, his connection with Juventus has not disappeared.
He helped the Bianconeri bring Alajbegović to Turin, follows his development and is already drawing attention to the next great talent from the same family. And when he talks about the current Juventus team, the message is clear: no unnecessary pressure – first, a return to the Champions League, and if an opportunity for something more arises, Juventus must take it.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport
