It’s common for football players to smoke in Italy
English football is so emphatic when it sees a football player caught smoking a cigarette, unlike in Italy, where a smoking football player is a common thing to see.
This was revealed by Niclas Bendtner, a former Arsenal player who had a career in Italy with Juventus, he even mentioned that many of his teammates often smoke in the toilet.
Previously, it should be noted that Nicklas Bendtner was indeed loaned out to Juventus by Arsenal in the summer of 2012. However, his career in Turin was short.
After only 11 plays, Bendtner was then returned to Arsenal for failing to perform well, not even scoring a single goal.
Although his career there was short, Bendtner was well aware of the bad habits of his former Juventus colleagues. One of them is smoking habit in the player changing room toilet.
“It was in the bathroom, I couldn’t find the players and it was a bit strange. You know, that was my first day. Of course I also rushed to the coffee shop, ”
“Then I found ten or 12 of them in the toilet, drinking coffee, chatting, enjoying each other’s company and smoking,” Bendtner told BBC Radio 5 Live.
What is interesting is that two of the players Bendtner is referring to are senior Juventus players, they are Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon.
“What can you say to these players? If you look at their careers and how professional they are, it really opened my eyes to both [Buffon and Pirlo], “said Bendtner.
Even this condition makes Bendtner surprised, because in England, football players who smoke will be very highlighted, an example in this case is Mario Balotelli.
“It’s funny because you remember when Mario Balotelli came to England and everyone said about him smoking in the toilet,”
“And that’s a big story in the paper – a player who smokes. At every club I play, the players smoke. It’s normal in Italy, much more normal than in England. ” he said.