Turin - the scoreboard at the football temple of one of the biggest clubs on the planet was counting down the 72nd minute... Vasilije Adžić, the Montenegrin pearl who only a few months ago (for reasons that are difficult to understand) was a reserve in Buducnost, made his debut for Juventus and started on the path followed by the biggest football names from his homeland.
"Kalćo" has always been especially loved in Montenegro, but it was also special for our footballers, so there is no strong league in which more Montenegrins played than Serie A.
Before Adžić, there were those who left an indelible mark, there were also those with less success, but our neighbors on the other side of the Adriatic always had a taste for football players from our country.
Genius and Mirko
Il genio Montenegrino - when the Italian media gives you such a nickname, then it is clear what you have brought to their football. And no one from this area has done it like that Dejan Savicevic in the jersey of Milan.
His dribbles and Eurogoals are still recounted throughout the Apennines, and with the "Rossoneri" he conquered Europe (the goal in the final against Barcelona remains for all time) and won three Scudettos on the red and black jersey.
Along with today's president of the Football Association of Montenegro, the biggest mark in Serie A was left by the first captain of the Falcons. Mirko Vučinić.
In the jersey in which Adžić made his debut in Italy, Vučinić was also a three-time champion, and apart from Juventus, his goals and great games in Roma and Leće are also remembered.
Jovetić and Savić
They didn't reach the Scudetto, but as very young they played perfectly in Italy and thanks to those games they made top transfers.
Stevan jovetić i Stefan Savic they excelled in Fiorentina - the first in the purple jersey in the Champions League demolished the giants Bayern and Liverpool, his talent shone in the most beautiful way in Italy, while the second after leaving Manchester City showed that he is a world-class stopper.
From Tuscany, they went to big clubs - Jovetić to City, and Savić to Atlético Madrid, with whom they were state champions, and our defender also played in the Champions League final.
Jovetić later returned to Serie A, he also wore the "ten" of Inter, scored some nice goals like against Atalanta, but the best games, however, were in the Fiorentina jersey.
Mijatovic
With the aforementioned foursome Predrag Mijatovic somehow completes the list of probably the greatest Montenegrin footballers, and they all have one thing in common: they all played in Italy.
True, Mijatović became a football legend in Spain in the jerseys of Valencia and, above all, Real Madrid, while he arrived in Fiorentina near the end of his career.
He was not at the previous level in Italy, but there were goals and nice moves, and he won the Cup and played in the Champions League.
Marušić and Krstović
Along with Adžić, Montenegro now has two more representatives in Series A - Adam Marušić i Nikola Krstović.
Our defender is already one of the "senators" in the Italian championship, one of the captains of Lazio and besides Savićević, Vučinić, Jovetić and Savić - the Montenegrin player with the most success in Italian football. He has been in Rome since 2017, and won the Cup with the Sky Blues.
On the other hand, Krstović opened the doors of Serie A last season by coming from the Slovak championship and immediately started scoring goals.
There were also dry periods in Leće last season, but the new one confirmed that he is the best striker of the team from the south of Italy and that when his goals arrive, the "Djalorosi" usually win.
A long list of others
There are still plenty of Montenegrins who felt the spirit of Italian football, but who did not have success like the aforementioned, most of them did not play many games in Serie A...
The long list is led by current national team members and three namesakes - Marko Vesovic (Turin), Marko Jankovic (SPAL) i Marko Bakic (Turin, Fiorentina).
Along with them, there is also the former goalkeeper of "Sokol" Vukašin Poleksić (Lens), Luka Dorevic i Ognjen Stijepovic (Sampdoria), Uroš Đurđević (Palermo), Sergej Grubach (Kjevo) and the current coach of Otrant Olimpika Miodrag Vukotić (Empoli), while Ivan Fatić on loan from Inter wore the jerseys of several other clubs (Genoa, Ćezena).
How far will Adžić go?
The first step has been taken, but there is a long way to go - it seems, however, that the Montenegrin pearl has everything to be another beautiful Montenegrin story in Serie A. There is talent, football charm that Italians especially appreciate, character, attitude...
Bonus video:
