Stevan Jovetic

"JOJO"

Age : 23

Height : 1.85 mts

Position : Striker , Second Striker , winger 

      " He is utterly fearless , and i don't see a limit to his potential "  

is he the new Savicevic ? " No  , he can be even better . He reminds me of cruyff  "

- Dejan Savicevic (  AC milan 92 - 98  )

     All those who know me well  - know this blog was always on the cards . I'm the biggest  " jojo " fan in the face of universe if anyone who is reading this disagree's , we can have a debate ( or even take it to the parking lot ) . 

    Lot of you might be wondering who Dejan Savicevic is (  FC barcelona fans and Die hard AC Milan fans wont forget his name ) . Dejan Savicevic is the genius who single handedly trounced the " Dream Team " of Barcelona in 1994 ( now legendary ) Champions league final . He is also a Montonegrin , started his professional career at the the age of 16 - he also had the same Brian May hairdo as jojo . 

Stevan Jovetic 2008 

How it all Started 

     He was 11 when he joined local club FK Mladost , three years later he joined the Partizan Belgrade Academy . At 16 he made his senior debut for Partizan Belgrade . He truly announced himself by scoring a hat-trick against zrinjski in a UEFA cup qualifier game . He was a regular starter for Partizan for the next two years . Till date he is the youngest captain in Partizan Belgrade's History , he was made captain at the age of 18 . many claim it was a ploy by Partizan to keep their young starlet with them for a few more years - but even they knew he was destined for bigger success . He took over the Montenegro U21 captaincy at the age of 17 .  Manchester United ,  (Manchester United links - The sun ) Real Madrid were among the clubs who were linked with him in 2007 (The sun - 2007) - along with dutch big hitters Ajax and AZ Alkmaar . Fiorentina won the tug-of-war for the signature of the 18 year old Montenigrin for 8m Euros . 

                                       

                                           

Stevan Jovetic hat-trick vs zrinjski

    

AC Fiorentina  

     Everyone faces different problems in their lives - but when you are in Firenze " dove si mangia oggi ? " is the biggest problem . Which literally translates to " where do we eat today " . 

stadio Artemio Franchi - Firenze

      

      Viola fans have never been short of a  hero or two in the pitch - even though trophies are hard to come by . History of Firenze calls viola the " joys and sufferings of the city " - but it has definitely brought more latter than the former . But still no viola fan will trade them for another club ( one of the most loyal group i have ever got in touch with ) .There is a heavy rivalry involving la viola and la signora vecchia . Viola once came close to clinching the scudetto but on the last match day Juventus won their game with a penalty in the dying minutes and Viola lost their game with an disallowed goal . Which resulted in " meglio secondi chi ladri " meaning better to be second than a thief . Viola always had that one player whom the whole Serie A envied - Giancarlo Antognoni , Roberto Baggio and Gabriel Batistuta .

Roberto Baggio , Gabriel Batistuta , Giancarlo Antognoni .

     Once they signed a kid from vincenza - with a dodgy knee - they nursed him and waited for him . That kid was none other than Roberto " Il divin codino" Baggio - and the wait was worth it . In 1990 he single handedly took them to the UEFA cup final against fellow Italian side ( and arch rivals ) Juventus - which they lost . The next year Baggio was sold to Juventus for a record fee - which resulted in Viola fans protesting in the streets - which again intensified the rivalry . Even the last summer transfer window Dimitar berbatov saga was another incident to be noted which resulted in harsh exchanges between both the clubs . In the next season Viola bought a young Argentine striker - who is till date the highest goal scorer for Argentina . Fondly called as "Batigol" . And in line with all those names the viola fans had another feather in their cap - the arrival of 18 yr old  " JoJo " . Now one of the most sort out name heading into the summer transfer market - and a player whom all serie A teams envy ( even the likes the Juve , Milan and Inter ) . 

Time at Tuscany 

Jojo - presentation in Firenze

   JoJo took a little time in settling down to the physicality of the Scudetto . He scored his first goal for Fiorentina against Atalanta through a penalty . He scored against Sporting in a 1-1 draw which took viola to the Champions league group stages .He was a instant hit among the la viola faithfuls . Cesare Prandelli was the viola manager then .September 2009 was one of the most decisive days in Jojo 's career , he scored a brace against Liverpool in Champions League group stages . Which turned the whole media attention again towards the lad from Titograd ( match report ) . Everyone knew he was talented , but were little dumbstruck with the magnitude of his performance against Liverpool .Again on march 2010 he scored a brace against Bayern Munich - which viola won 3-2 . During the pre-season training of 2010-11 season he damaged his cruciate ligament on the right knee - which ruled him out of that entire season (jojo injury - goal.com ) .Throughout his whole career he has always been linked with a move away from his parent club . Even a season ending injury didn't halt the papers . He is the only reason why i keep tracking viola training session online .

Stevan Jovetic brace vs Liverpool FC 

                                         

Stevan Jovetic vs Bayern Munich 

    Jojo came back from injury and scored a brace against Parma in a 3-0 win . In the coming weeks he signed a contract extension keeping him at Firenze till 2016 . He finished that season with 12 goals . Recently against Inter he produces one of his best performance to trounce the Nerazzurri 4-1 , scoring 2 goals and setting up 1 . He is currently the 3rd highest goal scorer in Scudetto this season with 13 goals . One of the videos which i repeatedly use to watch during his injury lay-off .

Stevan Jovetic - Skills compilation

What he brings to the team 

     He is 6 ft tall and weighs around 175 pounds - has a good BMI . The first thing you should note about a footballer is his first touch  , as they say " A footballer is as good as his first touch " - Jojo has a great first touch . He has a Totti-esque  back heel - which shows how good his passing range is and also his vision . His biggest strength is his finishing ; also a clean striker of the ball . Out of the 13 goals he has scored this particular season , 4 goals are from outside the box . He is a technically gifted player - very strong dribbler - likes to turn at pace ; wrong footing defenders .He can play with his back facing the goal - which is quite rare for a player of this type .

     Jojo is very versatile ; can play on the left wing - as a sole striker - or behind the striker as no 10 . His best position is playing behind the striker , you need your best player to be constantly involved in the game ; that gives you more chances of winning the game . With ball under his feet Jojo can be magical at times ; playing between the lines gives him that space and time to weave his magic .He is not the paciest player on the planet but he makes up for it with his trickery and his technical ability .

  

    There is no one perfect  in this world and Jojo isnt any superman . He gets fouled often ( much due to the physicality of Serie A ) . He isn't that strong in air ; I'm not saying he is weak but for a player of his size , he should do a lot better . He was employed as inverted winger for some period in his career , and he loves cutting inside - doesn't cross the ball that often . His work rate off the ball is decent .

  

     Recently it was revealed how Graham Carr scouts his targets . It was startling to notice how much time his scouting team spends time on collecting information about their target's personal life . You may wonder  why do they even worry about  personal life ?  - In order to build a healthy squad you need less controversial characters . In case of Jojo he is  level headed  . He is not the kind of person who thinks " All publicity is good publicity " . Jojo is more a team player . Doesn't get into trouble on and off the pitch . He has the capability to carry a team on his shoulder .

     

What's next ?

    Rumors linking the Montenegrin out of Firenze has gathered pace this season ; his recent interview of admitting his affinity towards Arsenal FC  has added fuel to the fire . Given the quality Jojo should be playing in CL every season.

Arsenal FC 

    For the whole of last season Arsenal were the only team to play with a single formation ( 4-2-3-1 ) . Arsene Wenger is facing increased pressure to to build a title challenging squad both domestically and in Europe . There is a higher possibility of Gervinho leaving the gunners  - Wenger will be looking to bolster his defence this summer .

     Where will Jojo fit ? he can play as a lone center forward ( benching Giroud ) or play behind the striker ; moving Santi to the right wing and benching Walcott / Ox . His defensive contributions are decent but unless Arsenal have someone like Ettiene capou  behind him , they will always be defensively vulnerable ( Arteta and Wilshere pairing will always be defensively vulnerable with wilshere being more attack minded ) . Obviously Jojo will increase the squad strength of Arsenal . I still remember once Wenger said he will pay mad amount of money if he finds the right player .Eventhough Jojo's agent has confirmed he has agreed personal terms with Arsenal - Fiorentina have denied any agreement between the clubs . I like to make some cheeky predictions - the first Jojo goal for Gunners will be a shot from outside the box .

    If Jojo moves outside Italy - it will be yet another big loss for Serie A . Fiorentina have built a squad around him this season . They are challenging for a Champions league spot ; have already signed Giussepe Rossi this January . With a couple of more quality signings they can seriously challenge for scudetto next season ( provided Jojo stays ) . Sometimes even the best of friends must part . Fiorentina have already got the right back-up for Jojo 

Stevan Jovetic with Adem Ljacic 

    Adem Ljacic  is a worthy replacement for Jojo - extremely talented . He will make it big .

     

       Its the flair which attracts people to the stadium - that is why Brasil have a huge fan following throughout the world . Jojo has that flair about him which will make you instantly fall in love with his game play . He is often compared with Roberto Baggio - not because la viola connection , but because of their similar playing style . So instead of me saying he is the " next Baggio " - came up with this ...

this was during my conversation with Giancarlo Rinaldi renowned 

viola blogger / life long viola supporter

-sv