ItâÂÂs not much fun being Dejan Stankovic at the moment; well it canâÂÂt have been fun for some time in fact.
A Roberto Mancini loyalist, a hoax call sacking him, facing the wreath of Juventus fans and a firm favourite of a war criminal defendant: just a few of the downers landing at poor StanâÂÂs feet over the past few months.
But the nadir has to be in the form of an article in well-respected daily Il Corriere dello Sera thatEuropeâÂÂs most-wanted man Radovan Karadzic used to spend many an enjoyable evening inRomeâÂÂs Olympic Stadium and the San Siro watching his hero.
Things can only get better, right?
KaradzicâÂÂs nephew broke the news that his uncle was a big fan of Stankovic and fellow Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic, and liked nothing better to slip off to watch the pair at Lazio and then at Inter.
âÂÂHe was a big footballer follower and he went to games at Lazio and then Inter in 2004 to watch his idols Sinisa Mihajlovic and Dejan Stankovic,â claimed Dragan Karadzic.
What the pair make of this is anyoneâÂÂs guess but for the latter he must think someone has it in for him.
As one ManciniâÂÂs biggest cheerleaders his future at Inter was always going to shaky and when Jose Mourinho showed up, the ground must have given away under his feet.
His fragile ego caved in during a relaxing afternoon at the beach when he received a phone call from whom he thought was Massimo Moratti, who explained that he was no longer part of the clubâÂÂs plans.
Bystanders claim that the player then broke down in tears before it was revealed that a radio station had been playing a hoax to pass an idle summer afternoon.
He hardly had time to recover from that little ruse before it was leaked to the press that he was his the way to Juventus.
JuveâÂÂs notorious Viking ultras made their feelings known during the first pre-season training session, unveiling a banner which read: âÂÂYou spat on our faith ⦠youâÂÂll never set foot in Juventus ⦠youâÂÂre not worthy Stankovic.âÂÂ
They had not forgotten or forgiven the fact that our man had been set to join the Old Lady from Lazio before changing his mind and following Mancini to Inter or that he had been one of the BianconeriâÂÂs biggest critics during the Calciopoli scandal.
Karadzic: EuropeâÂÂs most-wanted man a big fan
Mourinho certainly hasnâÂÂt made things any easier, claiming the 29-year-old is a shadow of the player he was at Lazio.
He fed theBelgradenative to theTurinhordes during TuesdayâÂÂs TIM Trophy: first bringing him on as a substitute against Juve, only to substitute him 12 minutes later, much to the glee of the locals.
Could things get any worse for poor Stan? Well, Claudio Ranieri rates him and Mourinho rates Tiago. Swap deal anyone?
