Miralem Pjanic, a former Juventus and Roma star, says he doesn’t understand why Italy celebrated Bosnia and Herzegovina’s win over Wales: ‘They’ll need personality in Zenica.’
Ex-Serie A star Pjanic commented on Italy’s celebration of Bosnia’s victory against Wales in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
Pjanic: ‘I don’t understand’ Italy’s celebration
“I don’t understand why,” said the ex-midfielder.
“Bosnia is waiting for them with open arms,” he added, smiling.
“We’ll see how it ends, anyway. Italy is Italy, and we have the utmost respect, but who knows?
“They’ll have to be good at playing a game in a terrible environment. They’ll need personality to leave Zenica with a victory.”
Pjanic also spoke to Sky Sport Italia, warning the Azzurri that the atmosphere in his country will be far from friendly on Tuesday.
Italy secured a home 2-0 win over Northern Ireland on Thursday to qualify for the World Cup play-off Final, while Bosnia and Herzegovina needed penalties to beat Wales away.
Some Italian players, including Federico Dimarco, were caught on camera celebrating Bosnia’s victory, and the video has quickly gone viral on social media.
Dimarco explained his reaction at a press conference on Saturday, insisting that he was not arrogant and that it was “disrespectful” to show the Azzurri’s celebration on live TV.
Pjanic scored 42 goals in 281 Serie A appearances with Roma and Juventus.
He won four Serie A titles with the Bianconeri and retired last year.
The World Cup play-off Final between Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be played in Zenica on Tuesday, March 31 at 20:45 CET.
