World Soccer - UK (2022-05)

Dusan Vlahovic

OCT 11, 2020

Makes his senior

debut for Serbia

in a UEFA Nations

League defeat

to Hungary.

NOV9,2020

Links up with Cesar

Prandelli for the

first time, after the

manager returns to

Fiorentina to replace

Giuseppe Iachini.

NOV 18, 2020

Scores his first

senior international

goal in a 5-0 victory

over Russia in the

Nations League.

DEC 22, 2020

Scores against

Juventus in

Fiorentina’s first

away league victory

over the Turin club

for12 years.

MAR 13, 2021

Scores his first

career hat-trick in a

4-1 away win over

Benevento.

MAY 31, 2021

Is named Serie A’s

Best Young Player

after ending the

season with 21

league goals.

A substantial height increase in

his early teens only made him more

formidable as a striker and, at the age

of14, he was headhunted by academy

bosses at OFK Belgrade, a one-time

big-hitter on the Yugoslavian/Serbian

scene with an excellent track record

in churning out stars, including1970s

Yugoslav internationals Ilija Petkovic

and Slobodan Santrac and, more

recently, Branislav Ivanovic and

Aleksandar Kolarov.

Young Vlahovic only stayed at

OFK for six months, but still left a

wholly positive impression. “He was

a tall and thin kid, but already had

the head of a future champion,” OFK

general secretary Vladimir Rasic told

Fiorentina websiteFirenze Violalast

year. “He always had ability and

mentality way above average.”

It was at this point that Red Star

Belgrade launched a bid to sign him,

inviting him to try out for their youth

team in a friendly against Dinamo

Zagreb. Still only14, Vlahovic was in

two minds over the aforementioned

trial: like the rest of his family, he was a

passionate fan of Red Star’s arch-rivals

Partizan and did not feel comfortable

“guesting for the enemy”. Rather

reluctantly, he took part, blotting

his copybook with a penalty miss.

Vlahovic grew up obsessed with sport.

He was especially keen on basketball

and martial arts, though football was

by far his number one love. His

parents took him to his first soccer

club, Altina Zemun, at the age of just

six and over the course of the next

eight years there, he would leave

observers bewitched by his abundant

attacking gifts: his incredible dribbling

skills, directness and blistering left-

footed shots. He could run rings

around opponents, score from any

angle and make goals out of nothing.

Making an

impression...

Vlahovic scores in

Fiorentina’s 3-0

win atJuventus

Mentor...former

Fiorentina boss

Cesare Prandelli

Hat-trick hero...Vlahovic poses with the match

ball after scoring a hat-trick at Benevento