The Viola fans made it clear on Wednesday evening that Dusan Vlahovic is no longer welcome, even with unpleasant shouts. The Serb, who has been playing for Juventus since the winter, was cool about it – and made a grand gesture immediately after the final whistle.
Normally Dusan Vlahovic reacts directly on Instagram after victories. This time, the striker, who moved to Juventus from AC Florence for over €70 million in the winter, waited a few hours before posting just one picture of a closed Turin circle of cheers in a story – complete with a white and black heart for the Juve colours.
The attacker refrained from writing a text – just as he refrained from making provocative gestures to the enraged Fiorentina fans on Wednesday evening during the narrow and very fortunate 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Coppa semi-final. They had made it difficult for Vlahovic to play with whistles distributed before the game – according to Italian media reports over 10,000 among the 33,000 spectators – and booed him every time he touched the ball. Unpleasant insults were also reportedly shouted, especially by the ultras from the Curva Fiesole at the Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi.
Vlahovic goes at Venuti
But Vlahovic, who matured into a top goalscorer at Florence between 2018 and 2022 and whose path to a big club seemed to be mapped out for many, did not relent. He endured the whistles even during the warm-up, when he was the last remaining Juve player to practise free kicks. And he focused on the game during the 90 minutes, reeled off metres and always tried a lot, even if he managed very little on this evening against the robust AC defenders Nikola Milenkovic and Igor.
In the end, it should have been a shot on goal, which was also the best chance for his team. But goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano smelt a rat in this scene and snatched the cheekily attempted lob from a slightly acute angle.
When in injury time Viola pro Lorenzo Venuti followed up Juan Cuadrado’s sharp cross with the unfortunate own goal for an undeserved Juventus victory, Vlahovic also did not exaggerate his jubilation in the direction of the home fans. The goal scorer merely hugged a few of his team-mates for joy and went to his ex-teammate after the final whistle to show sympathy. He comforted the visibly disappointed Venuti, who had tears in his eyes, for some time and spoke encouragement to the unfortunate man.
Allegri predicted calm
All in all, then, Vlahovic kept his composure on what was certainly not an easy or emotional evening for him – fulfilling what his Turin coach Massimiliano Allegri had wished for in advance at the press conference. “Vlahovic will be forever grateful to everyone in Florence – to the company and environment that has allowed him to grow and come to Juventus,” the coach said. “He is very calm. And he has to stay calm, otherwise he wouldn’t play against Florence in the future.”
Accordingly, it looks good that Vlahovic should be back in the side for the return leg in the cup semi-final in mid-April.
