BiH secured its second World Cup appearance in its history by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout in the final match. The loss shook Italy so deeply that resignations began pouring in, and the news even reached the Italian Parliament. Questions are now being raised about the future of Italian football.
Although he had already commented on almost everything in BiH after qualifying for the World Cup, Barbarez was intriguing enough for the Italians to contact him and request his remarks. There, he thanked Gennaro Gattuso for his kind words before the match.
"Sergej Barbarez is an excellent poker player. I admire him. He played as a striker, blond-haired, for Leverkusen and Hamburg. He is a well-prepared coach who knows how to make others like him and connect with his players," legendary Rino Gattuso said about Barbarez before the match.
Now, a thank-you has arrived through an interview on the portal Tutto Mercato. Barbarez says he was solely focused on his own team.
"I am grateful for the respect from a colleague of Gattuso’s caliber, though I must admit that before the match, our attention was entirely on preparing the team to be in the best possible shape for the game," Barbarez told the Italians.
He briefly spoke about his pride after qualifying for the World Cup and also commented on the future of Kerim Alajbegović, the super-talented BiH national team player who is being targeted by Italy’s biggest clubs.
"I am very proud of my team and what they achieved against Italy. Matches like this will always be special," Barbarez says, concluding:
"Would I recommend Alajbegović to Italian teams? Alajbegović is a young talent with great potential. It’s always a positive sign when clubs like these show interest. However, I believe that at this stage of his career, it’s most important for him to continue developing in the right environment, play regularly, and grow step by step," concluded our national team coach for Tutto Mercato.