Luka Jovic labelled Cristiano Ronaldo as "the greatest of all time" and hopes to emulate the Portugal forward's achievements in Italy after leaving Real Madrid for Fiorentina.
Ronaldo ended a nine-year spell with Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles in three seasons before returning to Manchester United ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
Jovic has followed a similar path, leaving the Spanish capital to move to Fiorentina on a two-year deal as part of a free transfer that will see Madrid take half of any future fee the Viola receive.
While Ronaldo left having taken LaLiga by storm with Los Blancos, Jovic departs after a largely unsuccessful spell in which he scored just three goals in 36 league games.
Madrid paid €60million in 2019 for the Serbia international after he impressed for Eintracht Frankfurt, but Jovic is aiming to put the past behind him as he referenced Ronaldo as one of his idols.
"I am inspired by Cristiano, he is the greatest of all time and I hope I can do what he did in Italy," Jovic told reporters on Thursday.
Jovic will wear Ronaldo's iconic number seven shirt, though the Fiorentina signing insists it was "the only one available that I liked", and believes a different system with the Viola will help him thrive.
"I've never played in this competition, but I have experience in Europe and I think we have the qualities to go far," he added.
"I always played better with two strikers, but in Frankfurt we played with three and in Madrid also with one. I'm just saying that I have to help, the rest is the coach's job.
"I've been training all summer and I think I've come here fit – I just have a little calf problem that doesn't bother me."
Jovic will not be the only Serbia striker operating in Serie A, with international team-mate and former Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic playing up top for Juve.
Vlahovic and Dejan Stankovic share the record for the most goal scored by a Serbian in Serie A (51), but Jovic insists he will put international friendships aside with the Juve attacker now becoming a rival.
"Dusan did great in Italy and I will try to do the same," he continued. "In the national team we are team-mates and here rivals. He spoke to me greatly about the championship and about this club."
Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins
France made it back-to-back wins in the Nations League, with Christopher Nkunku and Bradley Barcola among the scorers as they thrashed Israel 4-1 in Hungary.
Playing at a neutral venue in Budapest's Bozsik Arena, France flew out of the traps as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer let Eduardo Camavinga's strike squirm past him in the sixth minute.
Israel did draw level midway through the first half as Omri Gandelman headed Oscar Gloukh's cross home, but they were on terms for less than five minutes as Chelsea forward Nkunku flicked the ball through Ilay Feingold's legs before slotting a low finish into the far corner.
Randal Kolo Muani twice went close to extending France's lead before Matteo Guendouzi gave them breathing space in the 87th minute, rolling a finish beyond Glazer and into the bottom corner.
Didier Deschamps' men added further gloss to the scoreline two minutes later, Guendouzi finding a similar position, but this time opting to pick out Barcola for a curled finish.
The result sees France move onto six points in Group A2, one adrift of Italy – who beat them on matchday one. They face Belgium next time out on Monday.
Data Debrief: New-look Bleus sparkle
With Kylian Mbappe absent due to a niggling injury and Antoine Griezmann retiring from international football, Deschamps fielded a new-look frontline of Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
Recording 33 touches in the area to Israel's five, and 15 shots to their opponents' one, France certainly impressed.
Kolo Muani was a particular bright spark despite not getting on the scoresheet, with his four chances created being at least twice as many as any other player (Theo Hernandez laid on two).
Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace
Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.
The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.
Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.
Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.
The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.
England 1-2 Greece: Pavlidis ends Carsley's perfect start with stunning brace
Vangelis Pavlidis' dramatic 94th-minute winner brought Lee Carsley's perfect start to life as interim England coach crashing to a halt, as the Benfica forward netted twice in a stunning 2-1 win at Wembley.
Pavlidis danced through the Three Lions' static defence to give Greece a shock lead early in the second half, only for Jude Bellingham to fire home a leveller in the 87th minute.
But England struggled to find their groove with captain Harry Kane out injured, and after Greece had three goals disallowed, they could have few complaints when Pavlidis took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score a famous winner deep into stoppage time.
England's willingness to throw men forward allowed Greece plenty of opportunities in the first half, and only a spectacular goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill prevented the visitors from going ahead when Anastasios Bakasetas lobbed Jordan Pickford.
Pickford was then arguably fortunate to win a foul when his missed punch led to Konstantinos Mavropanos nodding the resulting corner in, before Cole Palmer fired off-target from a great position at the other end.
Anthony Gordon headed Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross over shortly before half-time, but Greece continued to threaten and got their reward four minutes after the restart.
Receiving the ball with three white shirts surrounding him in a crowded penalty area, Pavlidis showed great feet to retain possession before slotting his finish beyond Pickford.
Pavlidis was denied a second goal by the offside flag seven minutes from time, and England drew level just four minutes later, with Bellingham's side-footed finish packing too much power for Odysseas Vlachodimos in the Greece goal.
There was to be one final twist, though, as England's hapless defence missed multiple chances to clear their lines in the 94th minute, allowing Pavlidis to take possession and fire into the bottom-left corner to spark wild celebrations among the Greek fans.
Data Debrief: Wembley woes ancient history for Greece
Prior to Thursday, Greece had never scored at Wembley and had failed to beat England in nine competitive meetings (two draws, seven losses), being shut out on seven occasions.
But they showed no fear on a memorable night in London, beating a team ranked in the world's top five by FIFA for the first time since overcoming France en route to their stunning success at Euro 2004.
While Lee Carsley fell short of becoming the first England boss since Fabio Capello (in October 2008) to win his first three competitive matches in charge, Greece claimed a huge scalp on an emotional night, one day after the tragic death of full-back George Baldock.
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