Former Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino believes Dusan Vlahovic should remain at Juventus, even if they don’t qualify for European football next season. Corvino spent seven years with La Viola, signing talents like Zdravko Kuzmanović, Stevan Jovetić, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, Felipe Melo, Juan Manuel Vargas, Artur Boruc, Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino and Adrian Mutu. Speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he recounted his time in Florence and shared his thoughts on Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa ahead of Fiorentina v Juventus this weekend:
Can Chiesa and Vlahovic become a 50-goal partnership?
“Potentially they have no limits. Dusan has already shown himself to be a champion both at Fiorentina and Juve, when he’s been good. Fede is the best in his role: assists and goals, he’s always a creator”.
At Juve, Vlahovic also faced his first criticism: which one bothered you the most?
“Are you kidding me? Dusan is not up for discussion. For Vlahovic, apart from his big numbers, talent speaks for itself. He’s a complete centre forward: he has physique, a sense of goal, good technique, progression, ability in the air. And then he is still young.”
If Juve, fresh from a penalty, were to stay out of the European competitions, what advice would you give Vlahovic?
“To stay in Turin, even without the Champions League. Juve is always Juve, a destination. And after a storm, there always comes calm.”
How does it feel to see your Lecce side just three points below Juventus in the table?
‘Juventus are just passing through…”
Were you ever close to signing a young Di Maria in the past?
“I’m honest, no. Having said that, a Di Maria-Vlahovic-Chiesa trident is the top for a coach.”
Fagioli, Miretti, Soulé: which of the three would you bet on most?
‘The dexterity of Fagioli and Soulé may attract more, but Miretti’s substance seems to me to be more functional in a team.”
For Juventus’ future defence, there is also talk of Salzburg’s Pavlovic…
“When you fish among the Serb players, you can hardly go wrong.”
In Italiano’s Fiorentina, apart from Milenkovic, many players from your time there have remained: Terracciano, Biraghi, Saponara, Castrovilli, Sottil, Terzic…
“They have all lived up to expectations. Apart from Terzic, who is still undiscovered, but in a positive sense. So far Fiorentina is lacking a bit of cynicism going forward and a bit of luck.”
If he thinks of Roma who he challenges today?
“Besides Mou, I think of Tiago Pinto. A manager is judged by what he finds when he arrives and what he leaves behind when he says goodbye. As well as by results. I like Tiago Pinto for the way he worked on the market: despite the financial fair play, which he inherited, last year Roma won the Conference and this season they are fighting for second place. I appreciated the management of signing Dybala and the management of Zaniolo leaving.”
Lecce players are also being courted. Baschirotto, Hjulmand, Strefezza…
“At a time when there are fewer and fewer pure goalscorers, Baschirotto is an excellent example. Hjulmand is proving on the pitch that he is a big name and the interest from the big clubs confirms this. Strefezza? You don’t often find an outside forward/second striker who scores 21 goals in a season and a half.”
