Sinisa Mihajlovic once said: “I respect the disease. I will face her, with a big chest, I will look her in the eyes like I always have.”
Now the Serbian ex-professional and coach has lost the fight.
He died of leukemia at the age of 53. This was announced by his family on Friday.
The former midfielder belonged to a golden generation of footballers from the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
During a friendly between AC Milan and Liverpool, players and fans commemorate the late ex-professional Sinisa Mihajlovic
The family statement said: “He fought bravely against this terrible disease.”
In 2019, Mihajlovic was diagnosed with blood cancer. The ex-professional had to undergo a bone marrow transplant, had three chemotherapy treatments – and returned to the coaching bench at Serie A club FC Bologna.
But the cancer returned. In March of this year he had to be treated again. After a disappointing start to the season, the club parted ways with Mihajlovic in September, who did not accept a new commitment at another club after that.
Mihajlovic’s death caused sadness in Italy. “You fought like a lion on the pitch and in life,” wrote Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Twitter. “You are and will always be a winner.” Other top politicians, athletes and officials also expressed their condolences, and FC Bologna tweeted: “Addio Mister, you will live in our hearts forever.
Sinisa Mihajlovic in the Lazio Roma jersey. The Serb was considered a brilliant free-kick taker
Mihajlovic celebrated his greatest club success early in his career by winning the 1991 European Cup with Red Star Belgrade. A year later he moved to Serie A, where he played for AS Roma, Sampdoria Genoa, Lazio Roma and Inter Milan. He was always seen as a physical and rough opponent, and he was also a very dangerous free-kick taker. In those years he won, among other things, the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Lazio in 1999 and was champion with the capitals (2000) and Inter (2006). After that season he ended his active career.
He became a coach and looked after AC Fiorentina, Sampdoria Genoa, AC Milan, Sporting Lisbon in Portugal and, until a few months ago, Bologna. From 2012 to 2013 he was national coach of Serbia, but his team failed to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.
