{"id":1244844,"date":"2022-02-03T09:30:44","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T09:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1244844"},"modified":"2022-02-03T00:39:22","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T00:39:22","slug":"best-ex-partizan-belgrade-players-famous","status":"publish","type":"cult-corner","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/best-ex-partizan-belgrade-players-famous\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened next? Eight ex-Partizan wonderkids who joined super-clubs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src='\/\/asset.fwcdn2.com\/js\/storyblock.js'><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/script><br \/>\n<fw-storyblock channel=\"squawka\" playlist=\"5L00K5\" mode=\"pinned\" autoplay=\"autoplay\"><\/fw-storyblock><\/p>\n<p><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Finally, we got there. The news this week that there will be no more \u2018news\u2019 <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">about the never-likely prospect of Du<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0161<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">an Vlahovi<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0107<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\"> signing for Arsenal is good <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">news indeed. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">For all bar <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">former Italian premier Matteo Renzi,<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\"> the fact that this <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">seemingly interminable saga has come to an end is life-enhancing in every <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Not least for those affiliated with his new club, Juventus. Because in \u201cthe <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 of Belgrade\u201d, <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidesport.com\/sport-articles\/bojinov-reveals-words-of-the-teenage-dusan-vlahovic--im-ibrahimovic-from-belgrade,-i-will-play-for-the-strongest-clubs\/2824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">as he apparently dubbed himself<\/span><\/a><\/strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">, the Old Lady have <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">bagged themselves a real player. Possessing a sublime left foot, a footballing <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">intelligence that belies his years, and the physique of a Greek god, the young <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Serb is a genuine, bona fide superstar in the making. In fact, with more league <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">goals last calendar year across Europe\u2019s big five leagues than anyone not called <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Lewandowski, and with 20 in 24 in all competitions this season, there is an <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">argument to state that he is already there. That at just turned 22, Du<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0161<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">an <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Vlahovi<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0107<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u2019s time is now.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">However, a note of circumspection. This path \u2013 from Partizan Belgrade <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">wunderkind, via Europe\u2019s middle class (usually Fiorentina), to a big-money, high-profile move \u2013 is a <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">well-worn one. And from the forwards who have trodden it before Vlahovic comes a <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">cautionary tale of hype and hiatus; careers stalled, knocked off course, and in <\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">certain cases, irrevocably broken. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">Here are eight former wonderkids sold by Partizan Belgrade to teams from Europe&#8217;s top five leagues, and how they got on<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"p-pdf_iframe__page\" aria-label=\"Page 1\" data-page-number=\"1\">\n<h2 class=\"textLayer\"><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">1. Savo Milo<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0161<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">evi<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0107<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"textLayer\">\n<div>\n<p>This is the only entry that stretches the definition of &#8216;super-club&#8217;. We promise.<\/p>\n<p>The old grandee of this tradition, Milo\u0161evi\u0107 arrived at Aston Villa in 1995 with a big reputation. Having broken into the Partizan first team at 18 and finished as the league\u2019s top scorer in his first two campaigns, Brian Little broke the club\u2019s transfer record to bring him to Villa Park for \u00a33.5m.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t quite work out as hoped. A total of 33 goals from 117 games across three seasons is hardly Torres-at-Chelsea disappointment, but this was a very decent Villa side and chances were forthcoming. And while he did score some belters \u2013 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinxfootball.com\/goals-posts\/2020\/5\/7\/savo-milosevic-v-leeds-united-1996\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>opener in the 1996 Coca-Cola Cup final<\/strong><\/a> a thing of particular beauty and significance \u2013 an unfortunate tendency to miss sitters saw him uncharitably christened \u2018Miss-a-lot-evi\u0107\u2019 by the English press in the process.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1245040\" style=\"width: 2570px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1245040\" class=\"wp-image-1245040 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-110x73.jpg 110w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-105x70.jpg 105w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-80x53.jpg 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-361x240.jpg 361w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-903x600.jpg 903w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-240x159.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-1100x731.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-85x56.jpg 85w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-30x20.jpg 30w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/02\/02224740\/1244844_1244844_PA-166130-min-1-330x219.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1245040\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Milo\u0161evi\u0107 scored the opener as Aston Villa won the League Cup nearly 30 years ago, their last major trophy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>There were extenuating circumstances here. With his <a href=\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/sport\/football\/manchester-united-partizan-belgrade-exclusive-interview-civil-war-family-tragedy-savo-milosevic-354374\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>homeland riven by civil war<\/strong><\/a>, and this being the pints-and-pies Premier League of the mid-90s where the closest thing to a player liaison officer was the kit man, it is little wonder that he struggled to settle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was incredibly hard for him \u2013 we weren\u2019t set up to deal with it then,\u201d reflected Little on his former charge, and there remains a sense that in another era, things could have turned out differently. As it was, things turned out alright. He departed in 1998 for Zaragoza, where he averaged a goal every other game before winning the Golden Boot at Euro 2000 for the national side then known as FR Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n<p>This earned Milo\u0161evi\u0107 a \u20ac25m move to a Parma side at the peak of their fraudulently-bankrolled, fantastically-decadent, wow-what-a-fun-squad-this-is period. After an iffy first season, they signed Hakan \u015e\u00fck\u00fcr to partner Marco Di Vaio, and career-wise things just trundled on wearily, via some Spanish mid-tablers and a six-month sabbatical, to a fairly inglorious conclusion at Rubin Kazan.<\/p>\n<p>In management, though, Milo\u0161evi\u0107 did end up winning the Serbian Cup during a one-year spell as Partizan head coach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"textLayer\"><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">2. Mateja Ke<\/span><\/strong><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u017e<\/span><\/strong><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">man<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ke\u017eman\u2019s is the ultimate tale of ultimate talent, ultimately unfulfilled. A boyhood Partizan fan who went the long way \u2013 via the likes of FK Loznica and Sartid Smederevo \u2013 to breaking through at his hometown club, Ke\u017eman got the inevitable move to Western Europe after a couple of blistering seasons.<\/p>\n<p>From there, the only way was up. Twice a title-winner in four years at PSV, he netted 129 times for them, and as one half of the indomitable Batman and (Arjen) Robben duo, he averaged over a-goal-a-game in the league across his final two years. At 25 years old, and with such sustained productivity under his belt, Ke\u017eman was primed to hit the big time.<\/p>\n<p>And then came that year under Jos\u00e9 Mourinho. Arguably the originator of the god-level-striker-flopping-hard-at-Chelsea paradigm that a certain Belgian is in danger of keeping alive, Ke\u017eman endured a torrid season and could barely buy a goal. Leaving for Atl\u00e9tico Madrid after a solitary seven-goal season for the same \u00a35.3m fee he arrived for was not exactly the step up that he had hoped for.<\/p>\n<p>Of his failure, he was in no doubt whose fault it was. \u201cI learned a lot of things in a tactical way but I don\u2019t like him as a person,\u201d Ke\u017eman said of Jos\u00e9, describing him as \u201ca very difficult person to work with\u201d. While the majority of the footballing world was still charmed by the Special One spiel, Ke\u017eman was ahead of the curve. Given how his elite career was effectively over before 30, as he journeyed ever deeper into obscurity, through Fenerbah\u00e7e and pre-petrodollar Paris Saint-Germain, to Russia and then China, you could say that he was a little early in most things.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/go\/livescore-bet?q=uk-all-con-bag-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1242395 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-1024x589.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-768x442.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-110x63.jpg 110w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-122x70.jpg 122w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-66x38.jpg 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-80x46.jpg 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-180x104.jpg 180w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-380x219.jpg 380w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-1043x600.jpg 1043w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-240x138.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-1100x633.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-85x49.jpg 85w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-35x20.jpg 35w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2022\/01\/15142236\/_LiveScore-Bet-330x190.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to Bet \u00a310, Get \u00a320 with Live Score:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Join LiveScore Bet (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/go\/livescore-bet?q=uk-all-con-bag-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here&#8217;s the link<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Deposit and place a \u00a310 bet<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Get two free bets*<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>*New members. \u00a310 min deposit &amp; bet on sportsbook, placed &amp; settled at 1.5 min odds within 14 days of sign-up. Win part of E\/W bets. 2 non-withdrawable \u00a310 Free Bet Tokens: accept in 7 days, valid for 7 days from crediting (ex. E\/Ws &amp; Multiples), stakes not returned. <a href=\"https:\/\/livescorebet.com\/uk\/promo\/p\/wo-football\/index.html?btag=a_34b_3c_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Click here for Rules &amp; Exclusions<\/strong><\/a>. Bet Responsibly. <a href=\"http:\/\/GambleAware.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>GambleAware.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"p-pdf_iframe__page\" aria-label=\"Page 2\" data-page-number=\"2\">\n<h2 class=\"textLayer\"><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">3. Stevan Jovet<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">i<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0107<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Partizan \u2013 Fiorentina \u2013 Intergalactic Cash-Splashing Super Club. Sounds familiar, no? Like Vlahovi\u0107, who at 16 years old is the youngest player ever to have appeared in the eternal derby (Red Star vs Partizan), Joveti\u0107 exploded onto the scene with record-breaking teenaged exploits. Scorer of a first-team hat-trick and made club captain before his 18th birthday, the skilful Montenegrin was one of Europe\u2019s hottest properties back in the late 00s. For a not-inconsiderable \u20ac10m, La Viola brought him to the big leagues, and from there he went from strength to strength.<\/p>\n<p>Eye-catching performances in the Champions League against Liverpool and Bayern Munich and some consistently excellent Serie A returns were enough to convince Manchester City of his quality, and in 2013 he was brought to Eastlands for \u20ac26m.<\/p>\n<p>It is hard to tell exactly where the wheels came off. When he played, he did well, averaging a pretty whopping 0.94 goal involvements per 90 minutes in the Premier League. But there was the problem. Signed ostensibly by the newly-appointed Manuel Pellegrini, this always seemed like more of a Roberto Mancini acquisition, a suspicion supported by the fact it was the Italian who rescued Joveti\u0107 by taking him on loan to Inter two years into his joyless City spell. And while Joveti\u0107 did enough to make the move permanent, he underwhelmed after that.<\/p>\n<p>There was a loan at Sevilla and some injury-hit years at Monaco, and he now finds himself at Hertha Berlin, where, to be fair, he is currently doing alright. Still, at only 32, and having been absent from the conversation for such a long time, he is yet another Partizan product who amounted to less than he was meant to.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Adem Ljaji\u0107<\/h2>\n<p>Yet another to transit through La Viola en route to nowhere in particular, but in this case one who was actually never meant to be there in the first place.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"tr\" dir=\"ltr\">Adem Ljaji\u0107, Manchester United&#39;\u0131n kap\u0131s\u0131ndan neden d\u00f6nm\u00fc\u015ft\u00fc? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iRyP5KrpiA\">pic.twitter.com\/iRyP5KrpiA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Fatih \u0160abovi\u0107 (@fatihsabovic) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fatihsabovic\/status\/1033760868113240065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Having been earmarked for the best part of a year to join Manchester United alongside Zoran To\u0161i\u0107, it took unforeseen work permit complications, the cancellation of a deal long in the making, and some prime opportunism from then Fiorentina boss and owner of the sweetest left foot in history, Sinisa Mihajlovi\u0107, to make it happen.<\/p>\n<p>And it didn\u2019t go disastrously. His final season of four in Florence was very good, in fact, as he bagged 11 goals and eight assists in Serie A and earned himself a move to Roma. And in any case, his total of 4,036 league minutes played is 252 times what To\u0161i\u0107 managed in what can only be described as an ill-fated spell at Old Trafford. Bullet dodged, you feel.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it didn\u2019t quite happen at Roma, or at Inter, and at the age of thirty, Ljaji\u0107 is now turning out for Be\u015fikta\u200b\u200b\u015f. And, regardless of the resurrection that Mario Balotelli appears to have undergone, we know what the move to the Turkish S\u00fcper Lig means for most top-level careers. If unsure, just ask Mateja Ke\u017eman.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>5. Stefan Savi\u0107<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As far as longevity goes, Stefan Savi\u0107 is arguably the most successful Partizan export on this list, albeit one who nearly joined Arsenal instead after breaking through at Belgrade-based BSK Bor\u010da.<\/p>\n<p>But Savi\u0107&#8217;s career in a major European league also threatened to be the most short-lived. Costly mistakes in games against &#8216;Big Six&#8217; rivals Liverpool and Spurs resulted in a swift loss of Mancini&#8217;s faith. Taking out the manager in training probably didn&#8217;t help, even if former club captain Joe Hart&#8217;s gleeful account suggests there were no hard feelings: \u201cIt was brilliant. Stefan properly did the gaffer. The gaffer took it well. If he wants to get involved in training he should realise he will get the treatment off the players.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fiorentina, on this occasion more safety net than stepping stone, gave Savi\u0107 a chance to course-correct when they traded this article&#8217;s next entry for him, plus around \u00a312.5m from City. They got over 100 appearances, two fourth-place finishes and a Coppa Italia runners-up medal out of the Montenegro international before selling him to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Under Diego Simeone, he has become a trusted regular in one of Europe&#8217;s best defences, having helped deliver the Europa League, La Liga and the bittersweet achievement of a Champions League silver medal (not that Atl\u00e9tico needed another of those).<\/p>\n<h2>6. Matija Nastasi\u0107<\/h2>\n<p>Surely, not another one. What is it with Fiorentina and their ability to improve Partizan youth products to the exact extent whereby they get their big-money move before stalling? A question to pontificate another time, perhaps. All we have are the facts, and they tell yet another tale of nearly, but not quite.<\/p>\n<p>It must be said, however, that there was nowhere near as much hype about the young Nastasi\u0107 as the others on this list. Regarded as a decent prospect at Partizan, he never made a first-team appearance for the club; it was out on loan at affiliate club Teleoptik that he caught Fiorentina\u2019s eye, and persuaded Pantaleo Corvino to splurge \u20ac4 million for his services. A year later, and his services were in such demand that the splurge needed to secure them was many times that figure. Up step Manchester City, who paid \u20ac24 million (plus Savi\u0107) for the tall, elegant centre-back.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, as Savi\u0107 had found out to his cost, and Joveti\u0107 was about to, nailing down a starting berth at City is fiendishly difficult. And while it started well for Nastasi\u0107, displacing Joleon Lescott in the first XI and winning the club\u2019s Young Player of the Year award the season he joined, injury ensured this was about as good as it got. Then followed a creditable spell at Schalke 04 \u2013 provided you discount last season\u2019s historic relegation to Bundesliga 2 \u2013 and a move back home. Not <em>home home<\/em>. More a home from home for these Partizan lads. Nastasi\u0107 is now back at Fiorentina.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"textLayer\"><strong><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">7. Lazar Markovi<\/span><span role=\"presentation\" dir=\"ltr\">\u0107<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Still only 27, it feels like an age since Markovi\u0107 burst onto the scene and won Partizan\u2019s Player of the Year in his first season as a professional. An age during which, in both figurative and literal terms, he hasn\u2019t really gone anywhere. Because he is now back where he started, having re-signed for Partizan from Fulham (nope, me neither) in 2019, a fact that, at least, he does seem pretty pleased about.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m Grobar,\u201d he said as news of the move broke. \u201cI\u2019m returning to my house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet, for all that he is now skipper of his boyhood club, it wasn\u2019t supposed to be like this. These peak years were meant to be spent at the pinnacle. It really did look as though they would. The reported subject of some pretty bizarre courtship from Chelsea as a 19-year-old, he eventually signed for Benfica, where in his one season he was a penalty shootout away from winning a historic treble. And then it went wrong. A \u00a320m move to Liverpool followed, where he spent five miserable years, played only 19 league games, and was loaned out to a series of clubs, one of whom was Hull City and somehow none of them was Fiorentina. Sheesh. No wonder he\u2019s pleased to be back in Belgrade.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/go\/bet365-sports?q=uk-all-all-all-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/imstore.bet365affiliates.com\/?AffiliateCode=365_00991869&amp;CID=757&amp;DID=380&amp;TID=1&amp;PID=149&amp;LNG=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"320\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>8. Aleksandar Mitrovi\u0107<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The same age as Markovi\u0107, but in some sense retaining something of an upward trajectory, Mitrovi\u0107 is currently enjoying a hell of a season. Yes, it is in the Championship, and yes, it is very much on-brand with the too good for the Championship, too bad for the Premier League reputation he has earned for himself. But he has never been this good before.<\/p>\n<p>With 28 goals in 26 games at present, he is on course to bag 49 if he keeps it up. Bearing in mind that only four men have reached 30 since the Premier League breakaway in 1992, that would be quite some haul. But until he does it in the Premier League, where his 24 goals across three seasons for Fulham and Newcastle have come at 0.31 per 90 minutes, there will always be the same sense of what might have been that hangs over his compatriots.<\/p>\n<p>And really, when you take into consideration what he has done this season, the fact that he is Serbia\/Yugoslavia\u2019s record goalscorer (44 in 69 games), and the fact that he has already commanded transfer fees totalling \u00a340m, Mitrovi\u0107\u2019s failure to do it at the highest echelons might just rank as the most perplexing of the lot.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Du\u0161an Vlahovi\u0107 has scored more Serie A goals than any other player since the start of last season:<\/p>\n<p>\u25ce 58 apperances<br \/>\u25c9 38 goals scored<br \/>\u25ce 0.71 goals per 90<\/p>\n<p>That&#39;s not the only reason <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/juventusfc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Juventusfc<\/a> have signed him. ?<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SquawkaScout?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SquawkaScout<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6ZMhrqHkZm\">pic.twitter.com\/6ZMhrqHkZm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Squawka (@Squawka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka\/status\/1487143690384527360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-label=\"Page 3\" data-page-number=\"3\">\n<div>\n<p>An unplayable brute of a centre-forward on his day \u2013 not dissimilar to Juve\u2019s new acquisition &#8212; he really does look custom-made to play Premier League football. With Fulham surely as good as promoted, he should get one more chance to do so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/livescore-bet-bonus-code\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>How to get a bet bonus code by signing up to Live Score\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/premier-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Premier League betting tips from expert tipsters<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-live-streaming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>How to live stream today&#8217;s football matches<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finally, we got there. The news this week that there will be no more \u2018news\u2019 about the never-likely prospect of Du\u0161an Vlahovi\u0107 signing for Arsenal is good news indeed. For all bar former Italian premier Matteo Renzi, the fact that this seemingly interminable saga has come to an end is life-enhancing in every sense. Not&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":1245033,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Best ex-Partizan Belgrade players: What happened next?","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"With his big move to Juventus in the bag, Dusan Vlahovic will be looking to avoid the same pitfalls as previous Partizan products at the highest level.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1244844","cult-corner","type-cult-corner","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Best ex-Partizan Belgrade players: What happened next?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With his big move to Juventus in the bag, Dusan Vlahovic will be looking to avoid the same pitfalls as previous Partizan products at the highest level.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/best-ex-partizan-belgrade-players-famous\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What happened next? 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