Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic describes Roma captain Francesco Totti as “a football God”.
The Bosnian international has left the Giallorossi to join the Scudetto holders, but remains in awe of Er Pupone, so much so that he’ll cede free-kicks to the veteran.
“You’re talking about a legend of football,” Pjanic told SoFoot.
“When a football God like Francesco asks you, you turn away. He’s someone who makes people come to the stadium.
Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic describes Roma captain Francesco Totti as “a football God”.
The Bosnian international has left the Giallorossi to join the Scudetto holders, but remains in awe of Er Pupone, so much so that he’ll cede free-kicks to the veteran.
“You’re talking about a legend of football,” Pjanic told SoFoot.
“When a football God like Francesco asks you, you turn away. He’s someone who makes people come to the stadium.
“He’s by far the best player I’ve played with, and it was obviously an honour and a dream to be able to work with him for five years. He’s a genius.
“In terms of charisma, personality… he has everything. He’s a world class player, with extraordinary technique.
“When he tells you ‘I’m going to put it there’, it goes there, not even a few centimetres out. He has incredible feet. He’s 39 now, but he’ll always have that technique.
“Obviously there are guys who run faster, but he’s still the God of Rome. I repeat: it’s a source of huge pride to have played with him, and to have had a good relationship with him on and off the pitch.
“He’ll remain a good friend, and I’ll be able to tell my kids that I played with him. When he stops, you know a lot of people will cry.
“He’s given so much joy to so many people that you can only take your hat off to him.
“Could he have joined a bigger club? When I speak to him, he’s very calm about it. He’s very hoary with what he’s done.
“You have to understand that in Rome he’s not an idol, ok, he’s almost God. It’s hard to leave in those conditions.
“Even for me, Rome is a city I’ll be attached to for life. For him, he was born there, he has family there, his children were born there.
“There’s everything to keep him in Rome and no real reason to leave. Roma is a great club, he’s given so much to them and he deserves a lot of credit.”
Pjanic, however, has left the club, sparking fury by moving to one of the Lupi’s biggest rivals…
“I spent the best years of my life there. Now I’ve signed for a very big club, though Roma is a great team which will always be in my heart.
“I decided to take another step in my career after five years there. I’m 26, and next year will be beautiful.
“I really hope to win. I want to win.”
Having spent the past five seasons in Italy, the Bosnian midfielder was asked about the Azzurri’s chances at Euro 2016.
“The Italian team is a good team, a solid team,” Pjanic noted.
“If a team like Belgium, who have such great talents, don’t manage to score against Italy it means that they’re a team who are capable of going all the way.
“That’s how you win these competitions. It’s very hard to play against them, and Conte knows his team. He knows what to do, and his team leave very little space to the opposition.
“When we at Roma played against his Juventus it was very hard, he’s a great Coach.
“Why are Italy so hard to face? It’s difficult to play against them, because there’s so little space in the middle, you can’t find the weak spot.
“For a midfielder, facing a Juventus or Italy like that is a nightmare. What’s even harder is that if they get one or two chances, they don’t hesitate to stick them in the corner. It breaks you mentally.
“It’ll sound silly, but in such a big game the important thing is to score before they do. If you manage to do that, it makes it easier because then they have to come out and play.
“Patience is the main quality you need against a team like that, taking your time to make the right pass.
“Is it more tactical in Italy? Yes, as with all clichés there’s an element of truth. We spend a lot of time at the blackboard here.
“Obviously it depends on your Coach, but having said that even the weakest teams in Serie A have a good knowledge of organisation and positioning.
“They know how to cause problems for you, even if they’re not as good on the ball. They never give you space, they sit deep and they’re good on the counter.
“With Roma this season, we almost always had the ball but if you can’t find a gap you end up dropping points against teams like that.”