Vlahovic pledges to ´become a champion´ at Juventus

Dusan Vlahovic pledged to improve on his first half-season with Juventus and “become a champion” as the Bianconeri prepare to end their Serie A campaign against his former club Fiorentina.

Vlahovic joined Massimiliano Allegri’s side in a €70million move in January after scoring 17 goals in 21 Serie A appearances for Vincenzo Italiano’s men this season, adding a further seven in 14 league appearances for the Old Lady since arriving in Turin.

The striker became the joint-highest scoring Serbian player in Serie A history in Monday’s 2-2 draw with Lazio (51 – level with Dejan Stankovic), while one more league goal would make him just the second player aged under 23 years old to hit 25 in a Serie A season in 60 years – the other being Ronaldo for Inter in 1997-98.

However, Vlahovic has struggled to match his Fiorentina form during Juventus’ frustrating end to the campaign, averaging a league goal every 151.86 minutes for Juve as opposed to every 109.47 minutes for his former club.

Juventus are guaranteed to finish fourth in Serie A for a second consecutive season, having won the title in each of the nine previous campaigns, and lost the Coppa Italia final to rivals Inter this month.

But Vlahovic remains happy with his decision to move to Turin and sees room for improvement moving forward.

Speaking at the Turin book fair, Vlahovic was asked about former Fiorentina boss Cesare Prandelli labelling him a “true champion” recently, replying: “I would like to say, speaking of myself as a champion… I don’t like it. There is a long way to go, to work. I will give my all and I hope I will become a champion.

“I like Juve’s DNA, this desire to fight and not give up, to go over the limit, until the end. 

“I am a bit like that too. I like working, above all because when I stop playing, even if it’s early, I don’t want to have regrets. I want to give everything, I don’t want to have regrets. 

“This is my job, I am privileged and I don’t see why it should be different. You can always do better. Even when you have done something extraordinary, you must be aware and satisfied, without exaggerating.”

51 – Dusan #Vlahovic has scored 51 goals in Serie A, a joint-record for a Serbian player in the competition, alongside Dejan Stankovic. Eagle.#JuveLazio #JuventusLazio

— OptaPaolo  (@OptaPaolo) May 16, 2022

Juventus can end this Serie A campaign with a maximum of 73 points, guaranteeing their worst such return since the 2010-11 campaign (58 points, under Luigi Delneri).

The Bianconeri’s hopes of a successful campaign suffered a huge blow when Italy’s Euro 2020 star Federico Chiesa suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January.

Vlahovic played with Chiesa at Fiorentina and cannot wait to see the winger return to full fitness next term as he looks to rekindle their on-pitch relationship.

“He saw me grow up as a kid,” he said of Chiesa. “We shared three years at Fiorentina, luckily we’re together again. 

“He got injured when I arrived, I hope he’ll be back as soon as possible. We hope to find our understanding on the pitch, which has remained from Florence. 

“I can’t wait to play with him, to take the field and fight with him and win together.”