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est debutant in Partizan’s history in a match against OFK Belgrade. He was then just 16 years and 24 days old. Soon afterwards, he also became the youngest goal scorer in the his- tory of the league, taking that title from Luka Jović, who’s now at Real Madrid. That happened in the 2nd April match against FK Radnik Surd- ulica, which Partizan won 3:2. It is interesting to note that, pri- or to starring for the black & whites, Dušan played for that club’s eternal rivals, Red Star. That was at a tour- nament in Bulgaria. Vlahović was then a member of the junior squad of OFK Belgrade, but he received an invitation from “Marakana” stadium to join the team. And, he didn’t grat- ify them. Impatience, or something else, returned to hit the red & whites like a boomerang. Dušan moved on to Humska Street, where in one junior match he scored four goals against Zvezda. The shocked people from Red Star then asked their eternal rivals where they’d found this play- er, to which the they received an an- swer that shocked them even more: “Well, at your place”. Restless spirit that he is, Vla- hović signed for Fiorentina before turning 18, with the Italian club pay- ing Partizan 1.5 million euros. He waited for his opportunity and wel- comed it in 2021, which is celebrat- ed in Florence as the year of Dušan Vlahović. And we would like 2022 to also be marked by this young strik- er, because that would mean Ser- bia achieving success at the World Cup in Qatar. “I have only one piece of advice for Vlahović! Change the team, but stay in Italy. Serie A is the best league to progress. There will be time for him to try his hand in other leagues as well,” said national team boss Dra- gan Stojković. Vlahović is holding his tongue for now. The club and his manag- ers have advised him not to provide statements. Just one poorly trans- lated sentence can result in a prob- lem. And we have no doubt that he’ll prove himself to be the best again wherever he goes. And he’s only just turned 22!

D ušanVlahovićundoubt- edly marked the year behind us with goals in the shirts of Fiorentina and the Serbia national team, which he helped to earn quali- fication for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. That’s why it comes as no surprise that representatives of Par- is Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Totten- ham, Arsenal, Manchester City and United, Juventus and Barcelona lin- ing up in front of the headquarters of the club from Florence... Every- one who’s anyone in European foot- ball wants to entice Dušan into their realm. And the price is 80 million eu- ros, plus a commission from any sub- sequent transfer. That’s how much Fiorentina wants and that’s how much Fiorentina will get. The first time we heard about Vlahović was on 27 th February 2016, when he became the young- Europe vies to snatch Vlahović This lad from Belgrade, who will celebrate only his 22 nd birthday on 28 th January, has quickly become a “must have” among rich European clubs

liku i dočekao je 2021, koja se u Firenci slavi kao godina Dušana Vlahovića. A mi bismo voleli i da 2022. bude u znaku mladog na- padača, jer bi to značilo da je Sr- bija imala uspeha na Mondijalu u Kataru. – Imam samo jedan savet za Vlahovića! Promeni tim, ali osta- ni u Italiji. Serija A je najbolje pr- venstvo za njegovo dalje napre- dovanje i razvoj. Biće vremena da se oproba i u drugim prvenstvi- ma – očinski mu je poručio selek- tor Dragan Stojković. Vlahović, zasad, ćuti. Klub i menadžeri su ga savetovali da ne daje izjave jer sada svaka njegova reč ima težinu. Jedna rečenica lo- še prevedena i eto problema. A mi nemamo sumnju da će gde god da ode, ponovo biti najbolji. A tek je napunio 22 godine…

Tekst/Words: Aleksandar Pijevac Fotografije/Photography: Profimedia.rs

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