Sinisa Mihajlovic, one of the most famous and successful representatives of Serbian football, both as a player and as a coach, died on Friday (12/16) at the age of 53 in a hospital in Rome after an unequal battle he had been waging with leukemia in recent years.

“His wife Ariana with their children Victoria, Virginia, Miroslav, Dusan and Nikolas, granddaughter Violante, mother Vickioriza and brother Drazen sadly announce the unjust and early deaths of the exemplary husband, father, son and her brother. Sinisa Mihailovic.

A unique professional and human, available and kind to all. He bravely fought a terrible disease. We thank with love and respect the doctors and nurses who have cared for him over these years, especially Dr. Francesca Bonifacici, Dr. Antonio Curti, Prof. Alessandro Rambaldi and Dr. Luca Marchetti.

Sinisha will stay with us forever. Alive with all the love he gave us”according to his family’s statement.

The Serbia coach started his coaching career in 2006 as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter Milan, where he stayed for two years before successively working at Bologna, Catania, Fiorentina, Serbia national team, Sampdoria, Milan, Torino and Bologna and lastly coaching station his career.

Brilliant palmare for an early extinct star

Apart from his presence on the benches, Sinisa Mihajlovic of course had an incredibly brilliant CV as a footballer as after his first steps in Yugoslavia with the jerseys of Borovo, Vojvodina and Red Star from 1992 to 2006 he had a great career with Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter.

In all, he took part in 315 matches in Italy’s top division and scored 38 goals (although a defensive midfielder was attractive in goal as he was a free-kick specialist with his ailing left foot), while it’s worth noting that he managed to win in the 12th minute years he played in Serie A and celebrated a total of 11 titles, 7 with Lazio and 4 with Inter.

He has proven himself a fighter of benches and life. Last March, he announced he was fighting a second battle with leukemia, which first emerged three years ago (on July 13, 2019, he publicly announced his health problem through a press conference), with the Serb undergoing a bone marrow transplant as part of his treatment, but he fails to win the most difficult and now unequal fight of his life.

“Unfortunately, these diseases are insidious and hybrids, and as of the most recent analysis, there have been alarming warnings that leukemia could be resurgent,” He had stated through an extraordinary press conference in March 2022 that Mihajlovic remained on the Bologna bench until his sacking three months ago.