Soccer
Kerim Alajbegovic wants to replicate the achievements of former Bosnia-Herzegovina hero Miralem Pjanic, after following in his footsteps by joining Juventus.
The 18-year-old winger joined the Bianconeri from Bayer Leverkusen in a €40m deal earlier this month, having impressed during a loan spell at Salzburg last season.
The winger was then a key part of the Bosnia-Herzegovina side that reached the round of 32 at this summer’s World Cup, eventually losing to the co-hosts, the United States.
He scored one goal and led all his team-mates for dribbles attempted (18) and completed (10) at the tournament, while also registering the joint-most chances created (four, alongside Esmir Bajraktarevic and Ivan Basic).
And now, he is excited to play in the same shirt that Pjanic wore on 178 occasions during a four-year stint in Italy between 2016 and 2020, which brought four Serie A titles and a Champions League final appearance.
“When Juventus call, it is truly difficult to say no,” Alajbegovic told Tuttosport.
“It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I am truly proud to wear this jersey. It’s true, knowing the club had faith in me was really, really important for me.
“Pjanic was also important in my choice, because he was a Juventus player, and he had so much influence with this club.
“My father helped too. At the end of the day, it is what we all wanted and we’re happy.”
Juve missed out on Champions League qualification last season after finishing a disappointing sixth in Serie A, with Roma and Como beating them to a top-four finish as AC Milan also fell short.
Point the way, boss! pic.twitter.com/C3A1824AGf
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) August 13, 2026
But the Bianconeri opted to stick with Luciano Spalletti as their head coach for 2026-27, with Frosinone their matchday one opponents on August 23.
And Alajbegovic’s early impression of Spalletti has been overwhelmingly positive, saying: “I can see in training how good Spalletti is, that he always wants perfection.
“It’s good to work this hard, because you learn something new in every session. You concentrate on the precision of the passing, the movement, the positioning. He is a top-level coach for me, and I can’t wait to keep learning from him.”
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