It's as though Adem Ljajić were in a dark room, processing the film taken from a camera, which had been used to capture a series of snapshots of his time at Fiorentina. As the pictures begin to develop it's clear he doesn't like what he sees. "It was like a photograph that had come out bad," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I wanted another one."
Ljajić's reaction was understandable, for the photo people had of him was ugly. It was taken exactly a year ago today.
Relegation threatened Fiorentina were away at fellow strugglers Novara. Two goals down after half an hour and in dire straits, coach Delio Rossi substituted Ljajić. Tensions were high, and on seeing the player sarcastically applaud the decision, Rossi lost it. To the shock of everyone watching, he grabbed and began to punch Ljajić as he entered the dug out.
The incident made headlines across the world. It brought shame on Fiorentina, a club that under the Della Valle family's ownership had constructed an identity around the promotion of fair-play initiatives like the Terzo Tempo and Cartellino Viola. As such, they had no option but to sack Rossi for violent conduct. He was also banned by the FIGC for a period of three months.
Many felt sympathy for him. It was out of character, they said, although after seeing him give Roma defender Nicolas Burdisso the middle finger while in charge of Sampdoria this season, it can certainly be argued that it wasn't. Ljajić must have done more to provoke him than clap, people thought. He had to have said something. It was reported that he'd gravely insulted Rossi's family.
Ljajić denied and still denies the claim, telling journalists to ask his teammates and that they'll confirm that all he did was clap mockingly. The issue he had, though, was that many had already made up their minds about him. He was, in their opinion, a bad apple. But how had they arrived at this conclusion?
When Fiorentina signed Ljajić from Partizan Belgrade for €6.5m in the spring of 2010, he was welcomed by the media as the latest 'Corvinata', another coup of intuition from their then director of sport Pantaleo Corvino, the man who had discovered Mirko Vučinić and Stevan Jovetić.
There was great curiosity because Ljajić had been supposed to join Manchester United. An option to buy him had been in place with Partizan for a year during which time Ljajić had travelled to Carrington on several occasions, posing for photographs with Sir Alex Ferguson and training with his future teammates.
Why then did they decide to pass on him?
Partizan claimed it was because United were in a "financial crisis" on account of the Glazers' debt-laden ownership. That was dismissed. United cited work permit issues instead. There were also indications that Ljajić hadn't progressed as much as they would have liked in the interim.
The question some asked in retrospect was as follows: had United seen something to discourage their interest in Ljajić that would only become apparent to Fiorentina later on? Having been beaten by them to the signing of Nemanja Vidić four years earlier, though, they perhaps were only too happy to get one over them this time.
The success of Jovetić following his move to Fiorentina from Partizan 18 months earlier meant expectations were great. As did the billing Ljajić received as the Kaká of the East. He joined the club, though, at a delicate moment.
Unjustly knocked out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 by Bayern Munich and with the team in midtable in Serie A, coach Cesare Prandelli, a wonderful nurturer of talent, who'd waste no time in handing Ljajić his debut, was wondering whether he'd taken this team as far as he could and began considering his future.
He left that summer to take the Italy job and Fiorentina couldn't have chosen anyone more different to replace him in Siniša Mihajlović. If in coaching terms Prandelli was paternal in an arm-around-the-shoulder kind of way, Mihajlović was the father who was hard on his kids.
Though he was smiling when he told reporters that Ljajić should cut his hair because he's always running his hands through it, and that he should eat less chocolate and spend less time on the computer if he wants to improve as a footballer, their relationship wasn't and still isn't an easy one. Those comments also gave Florence the impression that Ljajić was spoilt, that he didn't take his profession seriously enough.
Stepping back for a moment, the atmosphere around Fiorentina at the time was unpleasant. The owners were disillusioned that Prandelli had 'abandoned' their project and the fans were critical of their management, so they withdrew. Corvino lost his touch in the transfer market. Mihajlović never had the supporters’ backing. Jovetić suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season and was out for the campaign. The team struggled and appeared not to care which was taken as a lack of respect for the city.
They finished ninth and when things deteriorated further the following season and didn't change even after Mihajlović was dismissed in November 2011, aim was taken at the players who were under performing and perceived to be uncommitted. It's within this context that many fans turned on Ljajić. To them, he was a symbol of everything that was wrong with Fiorentina.
"At one point," he said, "it felt like whatever happened was Ljajić's fault. The city was against me. Everyone pointed fingers at me." Made ineligible for selection for what remained of the campaign after the Rossi incident, it was thought he'd played his last game for them.
The player admits he considered leaving and that "the club thought about selling me." When he appeared in a pre-season friendly against Hellas Verona in Moena last summer, he was booed, hissed, whistled and treated to so many insults, so much abuse that reconciliation appeared impossible.
That day, however, he resolved to turn things around. He wanted another photograph taken, a better one. "Psychologically, it was crazy. I got it into my head that the only thing I had to concentrate on was working well, training and winning everyone over with hard work and sweat." He began to put in the graft.
When a journalist from Il Corriere dello Sport observed earlier this season that he was nearly always the first player into training, Ljajić asked: "Who's been spying? Anyway, yes, it's true."
After two years in Serie A, he seems to have understood what it takes to be a success there. "I arrived in Italy at 18 after playing only two seasons at Partizan in a league which isn't as demanding as the Italian one. Here there are many champions and every player knows what to do on the pitch. In Serbia there are [only] three or four strong players and great tactical discipline doesn't exist.
"Now I know Italian football better and coach [Vincenzo] Montella has given me peace of mind. He believes in me. My attitude has changed too. Before, when I didn't play, I'd train poorly without motivation. I've come to understand that I always have to work at 100% and even more so if I don't play."
That renewed sense of focus allied to the experience he has gained has brought Ljajić, who, lest we forget is still only 21, closer to realising his considerable potential. Rather than flashes of his talent, he's caught fire and is displaying a hitherto never seen before level of consistency as Fiorentina mount a final surge to qualify for the Champions League.
Ljajić has scored eight goals this season. Seven have come in 2013, the pick of the punch being a free-kick in a thrilling 4-3 win against Torino, a skill "I want to start exploiting more. I have [the] power. I only have to adjust my aim." In fact, only Andrea Pirlo and Francesco Lodi (5 each) have scored more direct free-kicks in Serie A this season. He's got eight assists too, averaging 184 minutes between each one, a rate that only Cagliari's Andrea Cossu can top.
From a disposable commodity last summer, he has, to his great credit and Montella's, become indispensable. Fiorentina have won 12 of their 19 games with Ljajić in the starting XI - a ratio of 63% - and only six of 15 without him - a ratio of 40%.
April was a very good month for him, arguably his best to date in a Fiorentina shirt. He was Serie A's fourth top scorer behind Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, Arturo Vidal and Josip Ilicic, with three goals. He set up another two and was only bettered in assists by Fabrizio Miccoli. His average WhoScored.com rating [8.37 in his last two games] was 7.83 over the entire month, the seventh highest in Serie A.
On Sunday Ljajić came full circle. Fiorentina travelled to Sampdoria: Delio Rossi's Sampdoria. It was to be their first meeting since that disgraceful night a year ago. While there was disappointment that they didn't shake hands - Rossi had indicated he would be prepared to but that he wouldn't be the one to make the first move - another narrative soon took precedence: Ljajić's revenge.
A few minutes before half-time, he scored, shifting across the penalty area before whipping a right-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Sergio Romero. Late in the second half, he got to the byline, laid it back for Alberto Aquilani and watched as his teammate sealed a 3-0 victory. Ljajić was named Man of the Match by WhoScored and La Gazzetta dello Sport.
It must have been sweet, even if Montella told Mediaset afterwards: "It wasn't easy for him. He has shown maturity and the desire only to play and think on the pitch. He's a completely recovered player."
His rehabilitation has been remarkable. And were he to have a photograph taken now, well, one imagines Ljajić would like what he saw.
