Dusan Vlahovic says he never had any intention of leaving Juventus: “I’m very happy to have stayed. It was what I wanted.” The Serbian international was linked with a move away from Turin in the summer, with some parts of the Italian media suggesting that Chelsea were very keen on signing him. Despite the speculation, the 23-year-old has slowly started to return to form, scoring against Inter in last weekend’s Derby D’Italia, something his touched on in a lengthy interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport:
Vlahovic, the goal at Inter came 71 days after the last one. How does a striker experience abstinence?
“I had no anxiety. I don’t know any other secret than daily work. Football is made up of ups and downs like life, but it’s your head that makes the difference, how lucid you can remain and not get conditioned. I wasn’t worried, just focused on the field and how to help the team. When you get unblocked the goals come all at once.
Did the draw with the leaders give you a different awareness as a team?
“We know we are strong, it was not an easy game against the favourite for the Scudetto and the draw gives us even more conviction: it means we are there.”
Is it true, as Rabiot said, that in the dressing room there is talk of the Scudetto?
“Players must always dream, we all have our goals, personal and as a team. The priority is to return to the top four and play in the Champions League again, then we’ll see how we are in the standings and what we can do. Everyone in the locker room has the ambition to win because the Juventus jersey asks us to do this”.
And your personal goals instead?
“To help the team more. Goals and performances serve to achieve collective goals’.
This season you had scored 3 goals out of 5 on the right, your weak foot: is this the result of specific work?
“Everything is the result of work. In our profession you can always improve, I can do it when I’m young as well as when I’m at the end of my career. Just look at Cristiano Ronaldo. This is my daily routine, I focus every day on both what I can do well and what comes less naturally to me. Only then will I become a complete player. The secret is to never stop. Football has gone too far, if you want to become a top player you cannot afford to have so many faults. Footballers are becoming more and more technical and physical. I don’t leave anything out and I hope the results will show.
It has been a peculiar summer, between physical problems and market rumours. Can you tell us your truth?
“I didn’t experience it as a different summer from the others, from my point of view nothing happened. I was always focused and calm, even during the tour in America, when I missed the match against AC Milan because of a physical problem. I was always serene.
Have you ever felt close to leaving Juve?
“No, I’ve always been sure I wanted to stay. Rumours are always there and they are part of the game, if we listen to everyone we can go crazy. I isolated myself and only thought about the pitch and in the end I’m very happy to have stayed. It was what I wanted.
Did you expect such a clear stance from the fans, who are against your transfer?
‘I can only thank them because they are always present, at Continassa, at the stadium, in away matches. I also want to give my all for them. It’s exciting and nice to know that they are on my side.
From the inside, is Juve as you imagine it to be?
“Actually it’s much better. Only by being inside can you realise the greatness of the club and everything that revolves around it. Everyone wants to be where we are. I’ve never had any doubts, I’ve always wanted to stay at Juventus.
How did your friendship with Gatti start?
‘From day one something clicked. I was amazed by what he went through and how he got here. His story can be an example for children, it has everything in it: don’t give up, always believe, because all dreams can come true with hard work. ‘Big Cat’ is always on the ball. Now he wants me to read a book…. He’s a good guy but he’s not the only one, we’re a great group and the atmosphere here is very positive’.
Is it true that if you had not been a footballer you would have studied medicine?
“After primary school, my mother wanted me to do a double course, play football, yes, but without neglecting school. I went to an institute that prepares you to study medicine, then I joined the first team and I couldn’t do it any more because it was very complex. I enrolled in a normal school to finish middle school, I had already decided what I was going to do when I grew up’.
You started with basketball, which is also a great passion of Allegri’s: do you play against each other from time to time?
‘When I was five I played basketball, but all my friends in the neighbourhood played football so I asked my mother to change. At Continassa they removed the hoop, but Allegri knows that when he wants he can challenge me. It’s always a pleasure to play with him because he has a winning mentality that he can transmit to you. He always wants to win, like me.
But in football challenges he always wins…
“Let’s say he always turns it around so that the winner turns out to be him, but competitiveness is always good because it helps you grow as a mentality. Allegri is a winning coach and having someone like him on the bench is a big help. That’s the thing that struck me immediately about him.
Juve have changed little in terms of men but they perform better: how do you explain that?
“When you play in Juventus the spark has to go off because you have an obligation to always win. We are a solid and aware group, sometimes we suffer and this unites us even more. We are off to a good start, we go on match by match and at the end of the championship we will draw conclusions.
