Dusan Vlahovic
struck a preliminary deal for the then
17-year-old in the summer of 2017,
eventually bringing him to Italy the
following summer for just€1.5m;
think of the profit margin to come.
“Vlahovic, for me, was a natural,”
Corvino toldGazzetta dello Sport.
“When I saw him for the first time
at the age of17, what struck me
was his physicality allied to his skill,
extraordinary instinct for goals and
rare levels of determination. Borussia
Dortmund, Arsenal,Juventus and
Atalanta all had their eyes on him.
In order not to lose him, I went to
Belgrade to meet his family and
invited them over to Milan. In the
end, I managed to win the day.
“There was a certain amount of
scepticism about his signing. Somewondered why I was filling the last
non-EU spot on the squad with
an unknown17-year-old, to spend
€1.5m on a minor we couldn’t use
straightaway.”
In his first season at Fiorentina
in 2018-19, he was given a few first-
team run-outs – one being his senior
debut as a substitute in a 2-1 Serie AYoungViola...
Fiorentina U19s
celebrate winning
the Italian Youth CupBreakthrough...
the Serbian made his
Serie A debut in 2018spawned by the Serie A title race in
1981-82 (whenJuve pipped them to
the domestic crown in controversial
circumstances) and the Turin club’s
purchase in1990 of RobertoBaggio.
So it was hardly a surprise when the
Fiorentina faithful reacted with fury to
Vlahovic’s decision to joinJuventus.
This vicious divorce had been several
months in the making. Fiorentina’s
announcement back in October that
Vlahovic would not be renewing his
contract very much drove a wedge
between the Serbian striker and club
ultras. The atmosphere at the Artemio
Franchi stadium would turn even more
sour when, just a few weeks later,
Vlahovic decided not to take a
spot-kick in a league game against
Cagliari. Did he pass because sections
of the crowd had been relentlessly
jeering him? Quite possibly so.
Shame that this marriage made
in Tuscany should end so messily and
acrimoniously. Not so long ago, in the
second half of last season, it was an
entirely different story, with Vlahovic
scoring goal upon goal and feted
for almost single-
handedly keeping
La Violaaway from
the relegation zone.
Supporters then
could not praise
him enough.
His 33 Serie A
goals in 2021
undeniably point to a marksman of
the highest calibre. Only the inimitable
Cristiano Ronaldo has ever done so
well in a calendar year in the Italian
top flight, netting the same number
of goals in 2020.
Historically, Fiorentina have boasted
many great marksmen – Kurt Hamrin,
Gabriel Batistuta and Luca Toni to name
just three – but even they were never
able to match Vlahovic’s immense
output over12 months.
Whatever Fiorentina supporters think
of Vlahovic now that he has flown the
nest, the fact remains that their sporting
director Pantaleo Corvino pulled off
a real coup when landing the young
Partizan striker some five years ago.
Corvino, one of Italian football’s most
astute talent-spotters, successfully
“When I saw him for the first time at the age
of 17, what struck me was his physicality allied
to his skill, extraordinary instinct for goals and
rare levels of determination”
Former Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo CorvinoFEB 27, 2016
Breaks another
record by playing
against Red Star
Belgrade to become
the youngest player
in the history of the
Eternal derby.APR2,2016
Scores his first goal
for Partizan in a 3-2
win against Radnik
Surdulica, becoming
the club’s youngest-
ever goalscorer.MAY 11, 2016
Scores in the
2015-16 Serbian
Cup final against
Javor Ivanjica,
helping his side
to a 2-0 win.JUL 21, 2016
Makes his European
debut in a Europa
League qualifier
against Poland’s
Zaglebie Lubin.JUN 23, 2017
Signs an agreement
to join Fiorentina
on his18th birthday,
and is consequently
excluded from the
Partizan first team.