Southampton fans have taken to social media following their former player, Dusan Tadic, receiving a nomination for the coveted Ballon d’Or award.
Tadic spent four years at Southampton, scoring 24 goals in 162 appearances, but a frustrating final season in the Premier League would see him leave the club for Ajax, a move which has so far turned out to be a masterstroke.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a spectacular 2019, a year in which he reached the Champions League semi-final with the Dutch champions, producing six goals and five assists along the way. He also ended the 2018/19 season as the top-scorer in the Eredivisie with 28 goals – despite not being a conventional striker.
A nomination for football’s most illustrious individual award, for a player who largely flattered to deceive at St Mary’s, came as somewhat of a surprise to many Saints fans, who remember a very different Tadic during his time on the south coast:
Regardless of whether you were a fan of Dusan during his stint at #saintsfc or not, the fact he’s gone from staving off relegation to a Ballon d’Or nomination is some achievement #dusantadic #hewaveswhenhewants pic.twitter.com/NnLeURZYlA
— Dan Jarvis (@danjarvisSFC91) October 22, 2019
Says more about how lazy he was for us? When I first saw him I thought he was our Hazard but by the end he was phoning it in. Don’t kid yourself. The Dutch league is pony. The Premier League is relentless week in week out and Tadic never had the drive or determination to do it.
— Paul Martin (@paulomartini75) October 22, 2019
class player…became unhappy so form dropped off.then fans get on his back
— adothesaint (@adothesaint) October 23, 2019
https://twitter.com/reecewells5/status/1187043172448456705
For some, the shock announcement came as a chance to express regret over the playmaker’s exit, who showed glimpses of his talent while in England:
He was my favourite player, gutted we let him go.
— Darren White (@DarrenW74628086) October 22, 2019
Wow, I hadn’t heard this. That’s fantastic. I always liked Tadic and wish him well. Class act when he played us and when he left.
— Steve (@skcochran) October 22, 2019
Top bloke too who always gave time for the fans!
— AADIL123 (@AADIL42) October 22, 2019
What do we think?
For many Saints fans the recent form of Dusan Tadic must be a bitter pill to swallow, as it’s safe to say, he never fully showed his potential while at St Mary’s, having almost scored double the amount of goals he produced at Southampton in 88 less games at current club Ajax.
That being said, many supporters did appear to wish the Ajax star well, who has certainly earned his place on the shortlist, with a series of remarkable performances in Europe this year.