Dušan Vlahović

Early career

Born in Belgrade, Vlahović started playing football in the Altina Zemun football school, where he competed mostly with older players. Shortly after, he joined OFK Beograd's youth system for three months, and also made one appearance for Red Star Belgrade.

Partizan

In summer 2014, Vlahović ended up joining rivals Partizan. He signed his first professional contract with Partizan in 2015 at the age of 15. In early 2016, Vlahović joined the first team under coach Ivan Tomić and was given the jersey number 9. He made his Serbian SuperLiga debut on 21 February against OFK Beograd, as the Partizan's youngest debutant in history. On 2 April, Vlahović scored his first career goal for Partizan against Radnik Surdulica in a 3–2 home victory, and became the youngest scorer in club history. He also scored a goal in a semi-final cup match against Spartak Subotica on 20 April, winning 3–0 away. He was scouted by multiple established European teams, including Arsenal, Anderlecht and Juventus with Partizan declining all offers. Vlahović scored a goal in the 2015–16 Serbian Cup final against Javor Ivanjica, helping his side win 2–0. Vlahović played his first match in the new season against Zagłębie Lubin on 21 July, in the second leg of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round; it was his European debut for Partizan. Vlahović started his first match in the second fixture of the 2016–17 league season, in an away match against Napredak…

Youth

Vlahović was a member of the Serbia national under-15 team, scoring a hat trick in a match against the Czech Republic on 16 April 2015. He was also called up to the under-16 squad in late 2015, making his debut against Poland on 27 October 2015. In August 2016, Vlahović was called up to the under-19 squad for the Stevan Vilotić memorial tournament, where he debuted in the opening match against the United States. In the second match of the same tournament, he scored a goal against France. After Serbia beat Israel in the final match, Vlahović was nominated for the most talented player of the tournament.

Senior

On 11 October 2020, Vlahović debuted for the Serbian senior team in a 2020–21 UEFA Nations League game against Hungary. The same year on 18 November, he scored his first international goal in a 5–0 home victory over Russia in the Nations League. On 12 October 2021, Vlahović embarked on a prolific goalscoring form for his national team with his four goals, including a brace against Azerbaijan, proving to be crucial as Serbia secured qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup on top of their qualifying group ahead of the former European champions, Portugal, after defeating them 2–1 away from home. In November 2022, Vlahović was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played in group stage matches against Brazil and Switzerland, scoring against the latter in a 3–2 loss, as Serbia finished bottom of their group. Vlahović was…

Vlahović is a complete striker, known for his physicality, technique and eye for goal. He excels at picking up the ball in central areas or the inside right or left channels and maintaining possession. He has multiple facets to his hold up and link play. His best assets are his strength to hold up the ball, and then his ability to turn and dribble past the first defender. When playing for Fiorentina, he often received the ball under pressure from either a long ball or linking with his midfielders. Vlahović is an efficient ball carrier, and his primary way to retain possession and circulate the ball is to use his strength in the contact and to use his superior dribbling ability to evade his marker. He is able to draw in opposition defenders and create space for his teammates or for himself with dribbling. Vlahović is productive in the penalty box and noted for his finishing in the penalty area, as he is able to hold his position in order to pin the opposition back into their box, before swiftly making a movement into the channels as his team look to locate areas within the final third. His playing style has led him to be compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland and Jamie Vardy.

Vlahović's idols are Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo. He follows MotoGP and has also played basketball since 2004. Vlahović formerly dated Miss Italia 2019 Carolina Stramare from 2022 to 2023, and has since been in a relationship with childhood friend Vanja Bogdanovic since 2024.