Vasilije Adžić has given his most extensive and revealing interview yet — speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport days after his decisive goal against Juventus sent the Italian football world into a frenzy of discussion about the player it let leave on loan. The Montenegrin class of 2006 is five appearances into his Sassuolo season with three goals and an assist, and the interview captures a player who has discovered everything he was missing in Turin: trust, continuity, and the freedom to express himself at full intensity without the weight of an institution too large and too turbulent to give him space.
“I Thought About It Every Single Day — When I Saw It Was the 13th, I Felt Something Was in the Air”
On the Juventus match and the goal that is already part of Italian football lore: “I had been waiting so long for this match. An obsession, I thought about it every day. I couldn’t wait to play it to show my qualities against one of the biggest clubs. Then when I saw it was the 13th I thought about this incredible coincidence. I felt that something was in the air.”
On the moment itself and its aftermath: “I’ve rewatched the goal a huge number of times and I barely slept that night. In general you don’t sleep much when you play in the evening. Add the adrenaline, the emotion, the intense feelings — it was almost a sleepless night.”
“Spalletti Came to Find Me on the Bench Before the Match and Made a Point of Congratulating Me”
The most surprising detail of the interview — and the one that reflects most generously on both parties — was the pre-match exchange with Luciano Spalletti. “I crossed paths with Spalletti before the match. After greeting Aquilani, he came to find me on the bench, I went to meet him and he made me compliments for how I had started the season. It gave me enormous pleasure — I thank him.”
“At Juventus, Perhaps I Deserved a Little More Playing Time”
The line that has generated the most discussion was delivered with characteristic honesty rather than bitterness. “At Juventus I deserved more.” He did not elaborate further — but the context of 203 first-team minutes across an entire season speaks for itself. He then spoke of the messages that followed the decisive goal: “I received many messages after the match. From my family, but also from teammates and many friends I still have at Juventus.”
“Muharemović Told Me: Go to Sassuolo, You Won’t Make a Mistake”
On the advice that made his decision: “Before arriving I asked Locatelli and Muharemović for information. When I arrived at Juventus, Tariq and I did the first-team preparation together — we were roommates for a month. He is a great friend of mine and about Sassuolo he told me: ‘Go — you won’t make a mistake.'”
On what convinced him about Aquilani: “His mentality, the fact that he always wants to play the ball, and that he showed me trust — in concrete terms — from the very first moment. I like him because he works a great deal with young players, he knows how to make them grow as his coaching career demonstrates.”
On the specific detail that made the difference: “Sassuolo wanted me as far back as January. What made the difference was director Palmieri — he came to Turin to speak with me and set up a video call with Aquilani, who explained the project and the role I would have.”
“I Am an Attacking Midfielder, a Number Eight or a Number Ten — Messi Is My Idol”
On his preferred position: “Above all an attacking midfielder — that is where I feel most comfortable. But as Aquilani says, it is courage that makes the role.” On his footballing idol: Lionel Messi — entirely consistent with the model Kerim Alajbegovic, his Bosnian peer at Juventus, also cited in his own debut interview. Two young Balkan footballers of the same generation, sharing the same football education from the same source.
“We Will See What Happens in the Future”
The question of his eventual return to Juventus received the most carefully calibrated answer of the interview. “We will see what happens in the future.” Three words that carry the weight of everything. The counter-option that Carnevali insisted upon — €1.7 million above Sassuolo’s purchase price — ensures Juventus retain the right to bring him back. Whether the future he gestures towards so carefully involves that return remains, for now, beautifully and deliberately open.
