‘Serbian Ibrahimovic’ stands in Brazil’s way at World Cup

Most players try to distance themselves from comparisons with their idols. Dusan Vlahovic, however, is the type who welcomes being called “Serbian Ibrahimovic”.

Covered with self-confidence, owner of a keen and refined eye for goals, in addition to having a height of 1.90 m, the young 22-year-old striker has characteristics that justify the nickname.

As a child, he already dreamed of being recognized in this way. Valeri Bojinov, a former teammate, recalls how his friend talked about himself. “He was just a 16-year-old kid and he kept saying, ‘I’m Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] Belgrade, I will be one of the best in the world and play for the biggest clubs in the world'”, the midfielder told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Belgrade is the city where the Serbian striker was born, on January 28, 2000, and also where the premature career of one of the greats who will be at the World Cup in Qatar began.

When he was 15 years old, the striker signed his first contract with Partizan. At 16, he made his professional debut, becoming the youngest athlete to play for the club.

For the team, the athlete played only 27 matches and scored three goals, but showed enough to arouse the interest of Italian teams. In June 2017, he was signed by Fiorentina. He would only join the club’s professional squad months later, when he turned 18.

The rapid rise weighed on him in his first two years in Italian football, during which he spent more time in the reserve, failing to establish himself. In the 2020/21 season, however, he exploded.

Between Serie A and Coppa Italia engagements, he scored 21 times in 40 matches. Italian newspapers began to compare him to an Argentine idol who shone for Fiorentina in the 90s.

“With his explosive physique and formidable kick, Vlahovic looks like Batistuta,” wrote Gazzetta dello Sport.

For the player himself, however, one of the most special moments of 2021 was not a game in which he scored a goal or one in which Fiorentina left the field victorious. Vlahovic was more emotional after winning a shirt from idol Ibrahimovic.

The meeting took place in March. It was the second time the two had faced each other. In 2020, in the first duel between them, both went blank, and there was a 1-1 draw between Fiorentina and Milan.

In the second match, the Swede won. In addition to having more chances than his rival, he was the one who paved the way for a 3-2 victory.

After the match, the Serbian went to meet the Milan striker. “At that time, I thought, ‘He [Ibrahimovic] he’s probably fine now, he’s not too angry. I’ll see if I can take the opportunity to get his shirt,'” the Serbian told Dazn.

“Playing with Ribéry, I realized that great players, even when they win, are not satisfied if they don’t do everything they want,” said the Serbian. “But I went in front of Milan’s dressing room, and Ibra, as usual, was doing everything slowly. I waited for him, he gave me the shirt, and we took the picture.”

“What impressed me the most is that he wrote me a dedication in our language. This gave me a great impulse, a great pleasure”, he added, without mentioning the language in which the Swedish wrote the text. The Milan player is of Bosnian and Croatian descent.

Ibrahimovic wasn’t just kind to his rival. It was more than that. He was also impressed by the Serb’s talent. According to the Italian press, the Swede suggested to the Milan team that they sign the player, whom he would have called his “heir”.

English clubs also entered the race for the signing, but who managed to get him out of Fiorentina was Juventus. In January, the Turin team paid 75 million euros (about R$453 million at the time) for the athlete. In the new house, he received the shirt 7, inherited from Cristiano Ronaldo.

The adaptation, this time, was quick. In 36 games since arriving at Velha Senhora, he has scored 16 goals and has two assists.

On a high in Italy, it also started to carry great expectations for the World Cup. He will cross paths with Brazil in the tournament, as Serbia are in Group G, alongside the Brazilians, Switzerland and Cameroon.

If it depends on Vlahovic, opponents will have work. “I’m completely obsessed with scoring goals. If I don’t feel that emotion, after a game I feel empty, down. When I score, I feel like I’m flying, in the sky. It’s an addiction, I live for it.”

This is the eighth in a series of ten texts about players who can surprise at the 2022 World Cup. They are published on Tuesdays.