Esteem and gratitude are not always able to tame anger. The relationship between Dusan Vlahovic and Max Allegri continues to be an alternating current relationship: the attacker is among the players who are closest to the Livorno coach, but in some circumstances he doesn’t let him know; just like the coach at times tends to dismiss him without discounts, despite recognizing his qualities. Against Milan, the number 9 was replaced just a quarter of an hour after the restart: and he didn’t take it well, no matter how much the coach played it down. “He didn’t come out controversial, attackers are evaluated when they score goals, but I have to look at the performance instead – said Allegri in the mixed zone -. In my opinion, everyone gave a good performance and the changes like in Rome against Lazio were decisive.”
last summer
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To get to the bottom of the relationship between Vlahovic and Allegri we need to retrace the entire season, starting from the transfer rumors of last summer. The manager was pushing Lukaku’s candidacy, it’s true: but we were in a moment in which Juve seemed forced to have to sell some valuable pieces and Chelsea’s interest in the Serbian was well declared. At a time when Vlahovic seemed one step away from being sold – reluctantly (and with his fans) – Allegri always made him feel important: during the United States tour he wanted to spend several moments with the player outside training to ease the tension, and – above all – he directed the center forward to improve in the non-possession phase, to the point of consolidating his position in the attacking phase.
the two phases
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At the beginning of the season Vlahovic and Allegri decided to come together to give greater consistency to the Juventus attack. The coach could not give him the support of an authentic second striker but he would still have guaranteed him more support than the previous year (so much so that he always tried to push Chiesa into the best interpretation of that role), and the center forward would have had to take care the defensive phase is much more so. There was this improvement over the course of the season, even if for a few months Vlahovic struggled to find the clarity to score consistently. It is probably no coincidence that the turning point of the center forward’s season came with the inclusion of Yildiz, plus Chiesa’s second striker, between the end of December and January. Now he has 17 goals.
management
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In 2024, Juve clung to Vlahovic’s goals many times, even if he was lacking a bit in the most important matches. Allegri never made any drama about this, almost justifying the player’s lack of performance with the little experience he has in playing matches of a certain type. In fact, Dusan’s next step must be on international matches, on big matches: he must play many of them and with quality. Having to stay in the game even when things don’t go as they should: the substitution against Milan, in a match in which he appeared too nervous and ineffective in front of goal, in this sense it could be more of an opportunity to grow in perspective. And perhaps also for another appointment scheduled soon: the Italian Cup final.
