Serie A legend Siniša Mihajlović dies aged 53 | OneFootball

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OneFootball

Dan Burke·16 December 2022

Serie A legend Siniša Mihajlović dies aged 53

Article image:Serie A legend Siniša Mihajlović dies aged 53

Legendary former Serie A player and coach Siniša Mihajlović has died aged 53 after a battle with leukemia.

The news was confirmed in a statement from the Mihajlović family on Friday.


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“His wife Arianna, his children Viktorija, Virginia, Miroslav, Dusan and Nikolas, his granddaughter Violante, his mother Vikyorija and his brother Drazen, in their grief, announce the unjust and premature death of their exemplary husband, father, son and brother, Sinisa Mihajlovic,” read the statement.

“He was an extraordinary professional, helpful and good to everyone. He bravely fought against a horrible illness. We thank the doctors and nurses who have followed him over the years, with love and respect, especially Dr. Francesca Bonifazi, Dr. Antonio Curti, Prof. Alessndro Rambaldi, and Dr. Luca Marchetti. Sinisa will always be with us. I live with all the love he gave us.”

The former defender and midfielder was capped 63 times by Yugoslavia at international level and is considered to be one of the greatest free-kick takers of all-time.

At club level he played for the likes of Red Star Belgrade, before moving to Italy to join Roma in 1992 and also going on to play for Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter.

In 2006 he began his coaching career as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter before going on to coach Bologna, Catania, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Milan, Torino, Sporting CP and the Serbian national team.

In July 2019 Mihajlović announced he had been diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia, but he continued coaching Bologna right up until he was sacked in September 2022 after the club made a disappointing start to the season.

He passed away on 16 December 2022 at a clinic in Rome following complications to do with the leukemia.