Legendary footballer Sinisa Mihajlovic has sadly passed away at the age of 53 after a battle with cancer.
The former AC Milan and Serbia head coach had been fighting leukemia but has sadly lost his fight as his death was confirmed on Friday. Mihajlovic was originally diagnosed with a particularly severe form of the disease in 2019 and underwent three cycles of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant in an effort to fight it.
However, having suffered a relapse, he revealed in March he was set to undergo further treatment in hospital. Speaking at a press conference, he said: "My recovery after the transplant [of bone marrow in 2019] was great, but unfortunately, these diseases are devious.
"From the latest analysis some alarm bells have emerged and there could be a risk of a reappearance of the disease. To prevent this from happening, I was advised to undertake a therapeutic path.
"This time I will not put in a slide tackle like I did two and a half years ago on an escaping opponent. I'll get a head start."
Mihajlovic will go down as a legendary figure in Italian football having represented the likes of Roma, Lazio, Sampdoria and Inter Milan - winning two Serie A titles and four Coppa Italias in the process. He also went on to add the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup to his collection in Italy.
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His free-kick expertise was a particularly potent weapon with the defender famously scoring three in a showdown between Lazio and his former club Sampdoria in 1998. Speaking about his threat from set-pieces, he said: “I played football for the free-kicks.
"I didn’t like football all that much, but the free-kicks were great. For me, that is football. If there hadn’t been that, I might not have played.”
The pinnacle of his career arguably came before that, though, having lifted the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991. Mihajlovic took his expertise into management having retired from the game in 2006.
The 63-capped Yugoslavian international took the reins at numerous Italian clubs including Catania, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, AC Milan, Torino and two spells with Bologna. He also managed Sporting Lisbon and the Serbia national team.
His latest role with Bologna ended earlier this year after enduring a poor start to the season. Speaking at the time, club president Giuseppe Saputo said: "It [sacking Mihajlovic] was my most difficult decision in the last eight years.
"It was an inevitable and painful choice made for the good of the team and the club. Unfortunately there are cycles that end."
