He passed away at the age of 53 Sinisa Mihajlovic defeated leukemia in a clinic in Rome. The former Bologna coach announced his illness at a press conference on July 13, 2019: “I have leukemia, but I will beat it by playing attack.”

On October 29, 2019, he underwent a bone marrow transplant at Sant’Orsola in Bologna, on November 22 he retired from Bologna’s technical management, and at the beginning of 2022 the nightmare returned again.

“His wife Arianna, their children Victoria, Miroslav, Dusan and Nicolas, their granddaughter Violante, his mother Victoria and his brother Drazen report with pain the unjust and untimely death of their husband, father, son and exemplary brother Sinisa Mihajlovic. A unique person, an excellent professional, accessible and kind to everyone. He courageously fought a terrible disease. We thank the doctors and nurses who have followed him with love and respect all these years. Sinisa will always stay with us. Alive with all the love he has given us,” the family said in a statement.

“A great man, a great fighter, he will be remembered as one of the best Serbian players to ever play in Italy,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.

Un grande uomo, un grande battletente. We will remember him as one of the most important Serbian players to have played in Italy. Un caro abbraccio alla sua famiglia. Ciao Sinisa, Riposa in the leg. pic.twitter.com/TVvvCU1afF

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) December 16, 2022

His career

Mihajlovic began his football career in his homeland, in what was then Yugoslavia. The son of a Croatian mother and Serbian father, he was born in Vukovar but grew up in nearby Borovo where he took his first steps as a player before moving to Vojvodina. In 1990, she made a big leap for Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, along with Savičević, Prosinecki, Stojanović, Jugovic, with whom she won the Champions Cup, defeating Marseille in the final at San Nicol in Bari.

He “moved” to Italy in 1992, joining Roma. Italy became his second home as the Giallorossi were followed by Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter. In any case, he always won something or left his mark. He retired in 2006. He scored 69 goals and 55 assists in 455 games.

His track record is impressive: 3 national titles with Vojvodina (1989) and Red Star (1991 and 1992), two championships with Lazio (2000) and Inter (2006), 4 Italian Cups with Lazio (2000 and 2004) and Inter (2005 and 2006). 2006), 3 Italian Super Cups with Lazio (1998 and 2000) and Inter (2005). With Red Star, in addition to the Champions Cup, he also won the Intercontinental Cup in 1991. He also won the Cup Winners’ Cup with Lazio in 1999, the European Super Cup the same year again with Lazio.

He started his coaching career as an assistant to Roberto Mancini at Inter before moving to Bologna, which was his first and last team as head coach. He also worked in Catania, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Milan, Turin, and his association with Sporting Lisbon lasted only 9 days (due to a change in president) before returning to Bologna. He also sat on the bench for the Serbian national team from 2012 to 2013.