“I have to tell you what happened to me”

The day after the match, while the city was still quiet after the night of celebration, Palmeri had breakfast with a colleague in a restaurant before leaving for the airport. Then something happened that he felt the need to share with everyone. Specifically an elderly man offered to pay for breakfast.

Italian journalist, unforgettable event in Zenica

Despite the fact that Italy was eliminated, the journalist left Zenica with a nice memory.

“Breakfast in a cafe with a colleague before leaving for the airport. Silence all around us, the day after the party. We're done and just before we get up to pay, a man in his 60s appears out of nowhere, quickly takes our bill and heads to the bar.

At first I don't understand what's happening, I think he wants to joke with us. He then starts talking to the waitress and pulls out a wad of bills as she smiles. I ask him, “What? What are you doing?” He smiles, nods and continues to pay, saying something in Bosnian, then, “No, no, no.” I say, “Why? But why?” He winks at me with an “Ok, ok” as all the waitresses are now smiling. I say again, “No. You don't have to do that.” And then I lean towards him, hug him and we rub shoulders. As he leaves, I ask him, “But tell me your name.” He just blurts out, “Italy, Italy, it's okay” and walks away.

A sixty-year-old face that seems hardened by life and hard work. Who knows what he saw when he was 30 years old in Bosnia. Who knows what Italy represented to him when the Italian soldiers came to Bosnia to help, or when Italy came to play in Bosnia in September 1996. How long will it be before we witness a pure act of kindness on a daily basis? How much better can life be with kindness?”, he said, according to sportal.blic.rs.