With rumours circulating that new Inter boss Jose Mourinho was keen to revamp his midfield in the summer, the future of Dejan Stankovic at the San Siro looked bleak just a few months ago, and an exit seemed on the cards. But when The Old Lady came calling, for the second time in his career, with an offer to move north to Turin, neither Stankovic nor the Juve fans saw any future in the potential transfer, and the 30-year-old decided to stay put – a decision which has since b een proved to be the correct one.At the time, though, the Serbian international had a difficult decision to make – stay and prove your worth to a new coach, or move to a club where the coaches are singing your praises but the fans are baying for your blood?
In reality, looking back, a history of altercations with the Bianconeri during his 10-year career in Italy meant the move was always going to be an unlikely one. No further proof of that was needed than when the rumours surfaced in the Italian press that Juventus coach Claudio Raineri was lining up a bid and the Turin club’s supporters took to the internet, bombarding fan sites with messages venting their disgust at Ranieri, club president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, and anyone else who had a say in the matter. But while the fans protested, the Juventus directors, coaches and players were falling over themselves to heap praise on their target.
“I know Dejan well, he’s a great guy and he would do well here,” said his former Lazio team-mate Pavel Nedved, who has been at Juventus since 2001. “I don’t agree with the fans, people have to understand that we are professionals and that it doesn’t matter where you come from. We serve the team which buys us and so I don’t understand these problems.” Ranieri added: “He is a universal player of great quality. He knows how to play in every role in midfield. The bad humour of some fans will pass after a couple of good performances.”
With such resounding praise coming his way, Stankovic must have been considering taking a risk on the move which looked like being the only way the once sought-after midfielder could continute his career in Serie A, even if winning over the club’s supporters would have been a tough task. Stankovic first got on the wrong side of many Juve fans in 2004, when his time at Lazio came to an end. After rising through the ranks at his home-town club Red Star Belgrade, he had made the switch to Serie A at the tender age of 20 to join a star-studded squad in Rome.
He quickly found a place for himself in a midfield containing the likes of Nedved, Juan Sebastian Veron and Roberto Mancini, and set about making a name for himself as one of the most talented young midfielders in Europe. It came as no surprise then when in 2004, as a financially-troubled Lazio set about selling off all their best players, that Juventus became interested in his services. But when he turned down the move in favour of joining Inter, the first black mark was put against his name by the Juve faithful. The second, and definitive, bone of contention came two years later, when Juve were stripped of their Serie A title over the match-fixing scandal and relegated to the second tier of Italian football.
Inter were awarded the 2006 Scudetto in Juve’ s place, prompting wild celebrations from Stankovic and his team-mates. The following year, as Inter looked to defend their title, Stankovic featured much less for the Nerazzurri, and only found the net once as a 12-month drought in front of goal began. With his old team-mate Mancini in charge of the squad, the midfielder’s place in the side looked to be safe, but when the coach was replaced by Mourinho in the summer, it seemed as though Stankovic’s antics against Juventus had come back to haunt him. The pressure from the fans was too much for Cobolli Gigli, who admitted defeat in the transfer.
“The fans’ opinion is important,” he said. “And we need to make a whole other series of evaluations as well.” Stankovic was forced to stay where he was and fight for his place. Since then, he has never looked back. Under Mourinho, Stankovic has been given a number of roles across the midfield during 15 performances in all competitions to date. The year-long goal drought has also come to an end, with a strike laid on by new signing Sulley Muntari, the man whose arrival was supposed to signal the end of Stankovic’s time in Milan.
And according to Stankovic, there was never any need to consider leaving, as he was sure of his place all along. “You can always earn a place in the team by working hard in training and listening to the coach,” he insisted after his side’s recent 1-0 win over Juve. “ I am really happy right now.” By his own admission, Stankovic is settled at the San Siro and determined to continue to blossom under Mourinho.