Pjanic: We were blessed with a golden generation

• Miralem Pjanic hung up his boots in December last year

• The playmaker proved pivotal for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil

• He will be cheering on his nation in the UEFA play-offs for this year’s global showpiece

Long before he worked under the likes of Luis Enrique, Xavi, Rudi Garcia, Luciano Spalletti and Massimiliano Allegri, the young Miralem Pjanic was an avid football fan, who was willing to endure 17-hour bus journeys to watch his beloved Bosnia and Herzegovina play. In fact, when he reflects on his illustrious international career, his memories immediately drift back to childhood. Football has been a constant in his life for as long as he can remember, even when he had to flee the war in the former Yugoslavia to move to Luxembourg with his parents when he was barely a year old.

“I just followed in my father’s footsteps,” he told FIFA. “We arrived in Luxembourg as refugees from the war. My dad was a talented player and football helped him to find employment. He worked as a labourer from 07:00 to 16:00 and my mum had a cleaning job from 15:00 to 22:00. When my dad had to look after me, it sometimes coincided with his training sessions, so he’d take me along. That’s what sparked my love for the game.”

“I’ve only ever wanted to play football and I’ve never held back,” added Pjanic, who racked up 115 appearances for his country, making him the second-most-capped player in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s history, behind Edin Dzeko. Now retired from the game, Pjanic can reflect on how profoundly the twists and turns of life – and history – shaped the player he became.

As a youngster, Pjanic experienced his fair share of ups and downs before making it to the top. His love for his national team was nurtured from a tender age, and he has plenty of stories to prove it. His admiration for Hasan Salihamidzic, whom he regards as a true role model, together with his father’s infectious passion for the Dragons as they were breaking onto the international scene were particularly formative influences. In short, it is safe to say that the exploits of Bosnia and Herzegovina were an integral part of the Metz academy graduate’s upbringing.

“Whenever the national team played, buses would set off from every country where Bosnians had settled,” he reminisced with his trademark enthusiasm. “Everyone was heading back home to watch the matches. As a kid, I travelled up to 17 hours by bus to watch a game and to support our national team with my dad. When I witnessed all the excitement in the stadium first-hand, I started to dream that I could be down there on the pitch myself one day. I was 11 or 12 years old and those moments will stay with me forever.”

The youngster’s dream eventually came true, although he was forced to make a choice at an early age when, after he had represented the country at U-17 and U-19 levels, Luxembourg sought to bring him into the senior fold. “I have Luxembourgish nationality. I owe Luxembourg everything and I’ll always feel a deep attachment to the country,” Pjanic said, who also revealed that he was even contacted in 2008 by Raymond Domenech with a view to enlisting his services for France. However, nothing could knock the midfielder off course. “My mind was already made up! My roots are in Bosnia and we always observed Bosnian customs and traditions at home. That’s what made me choose that national team. I know where I come from and where I was born.”

At just 17 years old, Pjanic’s innate talent, which was evident from the moment he made his professional debut with Metz, attracted interest from several top clubs. A year later, having just joined Lyon – where he would truly come into his own – the midfielder fulfilled the ambition he harboured as a boy in the stands in Sarajevo by earning his first cap for his beloved homeland. It came in a friendly against Bulgaria in which the scoreline – a 2-1 defeat – mattered little.

“Wearing that shirt and playing in that pressure cooker of a stadium is something truly special because the entire crowd are on their feet, singing from start to finish. I’ll never forget it!”

Although he represented top clubs including Roma, Juventus and Barcelona and shared a dressing room with some of the leading lights of the 21st century, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the pinnacle of Pjanic’s career was undoubtedly the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s history. “I wanted my career to be special and to take my national team to a World Cup – which had never been done before. It turned out to be an extraordinary and very difficult accomplishment. I’m proud to say that we were blessed with a golden generation.”

On South American soil, his team appeared well placed to progress from their group, but bad luck and a lack of street smarts eventually took their toll. Having been edged out 2-1 by Argentina in their curtain-raiser, the Dragons were left to rue their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria. In that match, a Dzeko strike that would have opened the scoring was disallowed, with replays later showing that he was not offside. At the time, however, the VAR system had not yet been introduced. They still bowed out on a high, with a 3-1 victory over IR Iran in which Pjanic claimed a goal and an assist. His generation will therefore forever be remembered for taking their country to its first World Cup and delivering an inaugural victory in the final tournament.

“We still look back and wonder what might’ve been, because we should’ve got out of that group,” maintained the midfield maestro, some 12 years on. “You have to know how to handle and prepare for these tournaments. With hindsight, I think our inexperience showed. Perhaps we could’ve dealt with some of those moments a little differently. But there are still plenty of happy memories, including my goal and our first match against Argentina at the Maracana. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to scale the heights of qualification again in Pjanic’s playing days, missing out in both 2018 and 2022. When the curtain came down on his playing career, the Lyon legend’s CV therefore counted just one campaign on the world’s biggest stage – one that nevertheless remains a source of immense pride for him.

While he can look back fondly on a brilliant career built on a combination of a tireless work ethic, self-sacrifice and natural talent, the former Bosnia international is now, in a sense, back aboard that supporters’ bus that took him all over Europe as a child. When his long-standing team-mate Dzeko leads out his side in Wales on 26 March in the UEFA play-offs for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Pjanic will be their No1 fan, cheering them on from home.

“There’ve been quite a few changes to the national team, but play-off matches are never easy, especially when they’re away from home,” he said. “These are both must-win matches. You’ve got to know how to handle the highs and lows. I believe in my national team and my country, even though Wales are tough opponents and won’t go down without a fight.”

If Bosnia and Herzegovina come out on top, they will play their next tie in front of their home support against the winners of the encounter between Italy and Northern Ireland, who will face a testing away trip.

“If we qualify for the final, the atmosphere in the stadium and across the entire country will be electric,” said Pjanic. “Bosnia is never an easy place to play for visiting teams. Going there knowing that it’s a make-or-break match to qualify for a top competition is going to be a nightmare for the opposition.”

While the former silky schemer is contemplating a future in coaching – perhaps even in his national team’s dugout – he is currently devoting himself entirely to fatherhood. There is no doubt that watching Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next World Cup would be a fitting way to instill in his children the burning passion his own father once ignited in him.