Kovacevic Blast For Lippi After Lazio Move
Thursday 23rd August 2001
Yugoslavian striker Darko Kovacevic took a swipe at Juventus coach Marcello Lippi, the club and even the city of Turin after officially being unveiled as a Lazio player.
Kovacevic joined Lazio as the makeweight in the deal which took Chile star Marcelo Salas to Juventus, but he is determined to make the most of his opportunity with Dino Zoff's side, even though he faces stiff competition from Hernan Crespo and Claudio Lopez for a starting spot.
He said: "I am ready to struggle for a place in the line-up, I am used to that. I have no problems with the two Argentinians, I can play with them.
"I am not here just passing through. I have signed for Lazio for four years and this is where I want to be. I am now at a better club and in a better city."
The 26-year-old then said he couldn't understand Lippi's decision to let him go. "Football is very strange, some time ago Marcello Lippi said that I was an essential player for Juventus, now I am with Lazio.
"I am quiet , if I have to sit among the substitutes or in the stand, I will do. Two years when we were struggling for the Scudetto, I scored many goals, but then I was back among the substitutes.
"Last season David Trezeguet didn't score a lot but he played from the first minute. It is all very strange to me."
Ironically, Kovacevic was the forward that Juve's previous coach Carlo Ancelotti had wanted in his squad at all costs.
He played an instrumental role in taking Juventus through the 1999 InterToto Cup competition and into the Uefa Cup with a hatful of goals. But this did not give him a regular place in Serie A, despite the fact he seemed to score every time he played.
Kovacevic has scored goals at Proleter Zrenjanin, Red Star Belgrade and Real Sociedad (33 in two seasons) - in fact, his only poor spell came at Sheffield Wednesday, where the Yugoslav encountered work-permit problems.
