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Juventus Ace Miralem Pjanic Reveals His Secrets Behind the Art of Taking a Perfect Free-Kick

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Miralem Pjanic has made of free-kicks his personal trademark. Ever since joining Roma in 2011, the Bosnian has left fans speechless with 13 precisely finished set-piece strikes in Serie A; a tally that is likely to rise.

Pjanic, who is now at Juventus, hasn't stopped mocking his opponents with his pearls from outside the box, that have often been deciders in some of the Bianconeri's most crucial matches. 

When French magazine L'Equipe ran a feature on the best free-kick takers of the world, they couldn't forget to include him alongside several other legends like Andrea Pirlo, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Juninho. 

But what differentiated the Bosnian from this starred bunch of free-kick takers is the joy that he admittedly feels every time he is in for one. 

When asked to describe the feeling of the preparation for a set piece, Pjanic replied: “It’s a magical moment where everyone is looking at you. 

“It’s a responsibility, but personally I like that. I take the ball, I concentrate and I’m not afraid. When you score it’s always a great rush of adrenaline, it’s a magic moment on a pitch, where everyone is focused only on your free-kick. Everyone watches you, all the cameras are on your free-kick.

“When the ball is dead close to 16 metres, the stadium always chants your name, or there’s always a special murmur and they’re waiting for the ball to go in. It’s always more pressure."

Many footballers would argue that high pressure situations are among football's worst aspects. However, Pjanic seems to revel in these moments and actually finds joy in them. 

“I look at the goalkeeper and see if he’s right in one of the corners or if he’s in the middle and wants to play with me," he added.

“I always ask two of my players to stand in the wall to hide the ball and so I can hit it on his side. When a goalkeeper concedes a goal on his side it’s much more annoying than a free-kick that goes over the wall. I try to mess with him. I try to look at him too, to see where I want to shoot.

“When I’ve scored two or three in a row in training I go home, it means you have your reputation, your steps, your vision, your distance.

When you have that in you, you don’t have to repeat it anymore.”