BIOGRAPHY
NOV 14, 2021
Plays every minute
of Serbia’s dramatic
2-1 victory over
Portugal to seal a
place at the 2022
World Cup in Qatar.JAN 28, 2022
Marks his 22nd
birthday by joining
Juventus on a
four-and-a-half-
year contract.FEB 6, 2022
Makes his Juve
debut, scoring the
opening goal in a
2-0 win against
Verona.FEB 22, 2022
Makes his first
appearance in the
Champions League,
scoring after 33
seconds in the1-1
draw away to
Villarreal.MAR 2, 2022
Returns to former
club Fiorentina for
the first leg of their
Italian Cup semi-
final, starting in
Juve’s1-0 victory.Whether due to the off-target
spot-kick or another reason, Red
Star chose not to proceed. Not long
afterwards, Partizan stepped forward
to give him his dream move.
At Partizan, his progress was meteoric
to say the least.Just15 when he turned
professional with them, he went on to
swiftly revise a large chunk of the club’s
record books, becoming the senior
team’s youngest debutant (16 years
and 24 days), youngest participant in a
Partizan-Red Star derby (16 years and
30 days) and youngest goalscorer (16
years and 65 days). He would be part of
the squad that twice claimed the Serbian
Cup (2015-16 and 2016-17) and won
the Serbian SuperLiga in 2016-17.
“Six months before playing in my
first big Belgrade derby, I was behind the
goal supporting Partizan,” he recalled in
a conversation withDAZN. “When the
coach [Ivan Tomic] told me to prepare to
go on as asubstitute, myfirstreaction
was to turn around and look behind
me. I thought he was talking to
someone else.”
Ivica Iliev, a former Partizan director
of sport, insists he always felt that
Vlahovic was destined for greatness.
“The boy was a phenomenon,” gushed
Iliev inGazzetta dello Sport. “He had
the physique, the technical quality and
a good head on his shoulders. Even a
Belgrade derby did not frighten this
16-year-old. He has an incredible
character. He has no distractions. Heonly thinks about footballand improving
his game. He never complains, he never
gives up. If he had a free day, he would
practise on his own. In training he
was a boy possessed. That makes
the difference
between a good
player and a
champion.”
Fearful that
her son’s football career might not take
off, Vlahovic’s mother, a dentist, once
advised him to adopt medical studies
as a Plan B. Dusan did indeed sign
on at the faculty in Belgrade, but that
was as far as it went. One doctor less,
one more thoroughbred striker.New arrival...Vlahovic
is unveiled atJuventusRubbing it in...Juve
fans unveil a banner
of Vlahovic during
their Italian Cup tie
against Fiorentina“The boy was a phenomenon”
Former Partizan Belgrade director of sport Ivica Iliev