National team coach defends struggling Juventus star: “What they’re doing to him isn’t’ right” | OneFootball

Serbia manager Dragan Stojkovic offered his support for Dusan Vlahovic who is enduring a rough patch at Juventus.

The 25-year-old played non-stop at the start of the season amidst the lack of an alternative at the club. However, his status drastically changed following the arrival of Randal Kolo Muani in January.

The French striker immediately earned Thiago Motta’s favour with a series of brilliant displays. And although the Paris Saint-Germain loanee has lost his scoring touch as of late, he still commands an automatic starting role.

On the other hand, Vlahovic has been relegated to a mere benchwarmer ever since, except for a couple of starts against Cagliari and Empoli.

On Sunday, the Partizan youth product was left on the bench for the duration of the contest against his former club Fiorentina, even though the Bianconeri were trailing from the early going. Motta bizarrely opted to introduce defenders while keeping Vlahovic Kenan Yildiz on the bench, something that Alessandro Del Piero struggled to wrap his head around.

(Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

But while Vlahovic has become the black sheep at Juventus, he remains a favourite within the national team, as emphasized by his manager.

“I have a good and high opinion of Vlahovic and his qualities,” said Stojkovic in his press conference via IlBianconero.

“In football, there comes a time when there is a negative atmosphere in the club. I will not go into details and I will not comment on the reason why he is not playing and if, instead, he should be used more. That is their business.

“Every player has positive and negative moments in his career, we appreciate Dusan as one of the most important pieces of our game. He will always play with me because here he has the opportunity to show that what they are doing to him isn’t right.”

Vlahovic had also admitted in the past that he enjoys playing for Serbia more than Juventus, mainly for two reasons.