Very rarely do we see the ‘entourage’ of football games celebrated, though in Bosnia a certain 14-year-old named Afan Cizmic has seen himself propelled to ‘celebrity status’ overnight after services on behalf of his country.
Ahead of a crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier, Bosnia & Herzegovina were taking on Italy who were bidding to qualify for the first time since 2014 so the pressure on the Azzurri was considerable.
Following a gruelling 1-1 draw, with Italy having been reduced to 10 men, it went to a penalty shootout; one that Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma won’t forget in a hurry.
Shootout Drama As Donnarumma Loses Composure
Having being known for his penalty heroics at Euro 2020 against England in the final, Donnarumma had arrived fully prepared with a highly detailed “cheat sheet”,that was near his water bottle and towel, with this piece of paper containing the preferred shooting sides and habits of every Bosnian penalty-taker.
However, Donnarumma’s best-laid plans were soon turned on their head when having returned to his goal he wasn’t able to find them, causing the Manchester City goalkeeper to erupt into a rage.
View this post on Instagram
Visibly rattled and having accused Bosnian goalkeeper, Nikola Vasilj of theft, he then grabbed his notes and ripped them up in front of a bewildered referee, players and stadium.
Now with no data to say nothing of his composure, Donnarumma then failed to save a single penalty having to rely on pure instinct, while Italy missed twice which saw the Azzurri eliminated and Bosnia reach the World Cup.
What Actually Happened
Unbeknown to Donnarumma, until at least, some time after the game, it was actually the ball-boy Cizmic who, suspecting the cameras weren’t on him and instead on Bosnia’s Benjamin Tahirovic, who was stepping up, Cizmic spied an opportunity, darting over and snatching the notes.
He admitted later: “I saw it and immediately realised what it was. I knew it was his secret weapon”.
It was a move that completely destabilised the Italian, though Cizmic became a national hero and the face of Bosnian television, even showing off the crumpled notes in front of the cameras.
In what has been praised as a notable gesture, Cizmic has since revealed that instead of keeping the souvenir, he plans to auction it off to raise money for charity that has further cemented his status as a “folk hero” among the people of Bosnia.
However, this is an incident that has been met with mixed views in world football, suggesting that it was unsporting behaviour in some corners, with others arguing that a closer eye should have been kept on the notes by Donnarumma himself. As such, it has led to a discussion as to whether FIFA should implement neutral ball-boys for high-stakes games.
