Even prior to his arrival, Juventus fans and observers alike have been comparing Dusan Vlahovic to a host of former club players, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Christian Vieri amongst others.
Naturally, some decided to recall the young man’s compatriot, Darko Kovacevic. Besides sharing a Serbian citizenship, both men have strong characters and attacked opposition defenders with ferocity.
The 48-year-old played in Turin between 1999 and 2001, scoring 26 goals in his 71 appearances, before making the switch to Lazio.
Apparently, the retired striker agrees with comparisons, as he sees some similarities between him and the Old Lady’s January buy.
The former Real Sociedad man explains how all Serbians play in a certain intensity on the field, and this trait isn’t exclusive to footballers, but is also common in other sports.
Kovacevic also says that he still follows Juventus up-and-close despite leaving the club more than 20 years ago.
“I always watch Juventus, every match. The team hasn’t played well in recent months but Allegri is a great coach,” said the former center forward in an interview to la Gazzetta dello Sport via ilBianconero.
“Vlahovic is a great player. Young but already with a winning character. I met him when I was working for Serbia’s youth national teams.
“He is a good guy and on the pitch he overwhelms everything. That’s what I like about him.
“That’s the Serbian character. Take a look at Mihajlovic and you’ll understand what I mean. We are 7 million but thanks to that spirit, that desire to win, we always have talents, in all sports.
“Djokovic in tennis, Jokic in basketball and then volleyball, water polo. In football we have Vlahovic, Jovic and Mitrovic who scored 35 goals in the Championship.
“Vlahovic lives the game with nervousness. Off the pitch he is very calm but on the pitch, if he doesn’t score, he gets nervous. I Like this. That’s how I was.”
