Miralem Pjanic claims “everyone’s hoping that Juventus lose” to Napoli on Friday, therefore beating them “would be even better.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Corriere dello Sport on Friday, Pjanic also revealed Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was his ‘idol’ growing up and felt his decision to leave Roma last year was vindicated by a Scudetto and Champions League Final in his first season.
“When I was growing up, my idol was Zidane,” explained the midfielder.
Miralem Pjanic claims “everyone’s hoping that Juventus lose” to Napoli on Friday, therefore beating them “would be even better.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Corriere dello Sport on Friday, Pjanic also revealed Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was his ‘idol’ growing up and felt his decision to leave Roma last year was vindicated by a Scudetto and Champions League Final in his first season.
“When I was growing up, my idol was Zidane,” explained the midfielder.
“I loved him, especially when he was at Real Madrid. I’ll always remember that Final in Cardiff, his gestures, the World Cups he played in…
“I loved Real because of him, but I also like teams such as Messi’s Barcelona. I like players that make people dream about football.
“Reaching Zidane’s level was a fantasy, so playing for a team like Juventus means touching that dream. I hope to keep growing and do even more for club and team.
“Roma? I had five fantastic years with them. It was definitely the most important stage of my career.
“I found a great club, whom I was very close to, but even though we played some great football and always finished near the top, it was difficult to compete with a Juventus, who were too far ahead of the others.
“Juve wanted me for a couple of years. I refused them at first because I didn’t feel them and wanted to stay at Roma.
“After that, I thought it was time. I wanted to win things and achieve important objectives. In one season at Juventus, I won the League and played in a Champions League Final.
“A player’s career is short and you must never stop. I wanted new challenges and the Bianconeri were the perfect team for me.
“What can we achieve this year? The truth is that we have a great squad and no-one can question it.
“After that, we clearly have things to improve on. In the League, the team that concedes the least number of goals often wins in.
“In the Champions League, on the other hand, it’s often won by the most dangerous teams. Our primary objective is to win our seventh League and then focus on the Champions League.
“Napoli-Juventus decisive? It’ll be a great game between two contenders for the title. They’re hiding it, but it’s clear they’re playing to win the title and that other things matter less for them.
“I sincerely congratulate Sarri’s team for what they’ve done. The League is beautiful, open to everyone and we can see it.
“Everyone’s hoping that Juventus lose, so winning it would be even better.”