Siniša Mihajlović

Siniša Mihajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Синиша Михајловић, pronounced [sǐniʃa mixǎːjloʋitɕ]; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian football manager and professional footballer. Though starting out as a midfielder and attacking midfielder, he played the majority of his career as a defender.

Mihajlović had an illustrious playing career, winning the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991 before moving to Italy, making 353 appearances for Serie A sides Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan and winning league titles with the latter two clubs. Considered by many to be among the best free kick takers of all time, he holds the all-time record in Serie A for most goals from free kicks with 28 goals. He won 63 caps and scored 10 goals for Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2003, of which his first four caps in 1991 represented SFR Yugoslavia, and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 tournaments.

Mihajlović retired from playing in 2006, becoming assistant manager at Inter. He managed six Serie A clubs from 2008 to 2022, starting and finishing with Bologna and also including Fiorentina, Torino and AC Milan. He was the coach of the Serbia national team from May 2012 to November 2013. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 and died from the disease in 2022.

Early life

Born in Vukovar into a working-class family of a Bosnian Serb father and a Croat mother, Mihajlović was raised in Borovo Naselje with a younger brother, Dražen (b. 1973). Their father Bogdan (d. 2011) was a truck driver at the Građevinar construction company in Vukovar, while their mother Viktorija worked in the Borovo shoe factory. Mihajlović identified as a Serb, but said that he viewed Croatia as his country as well.

During the Croatian War of Independence, his home was destroyed by Croatian forces, among whom was his childhood best friend, an ethnic Croat, forcing his parents to flee. His maternal uncle called his mother and said that she should stay in Borovo, and that Siniša's father was to be killed. His uncle was arrested when the Serbian Volunteer Guard took over Borovo, but was freed because he was related to Mihajlović. In a 2016 interview Mihajlović said he had forgiven his childhood friend in a meeting in Zagreb prior to the crucial Euro 2000 qualification match between FR Yugoslavia and Croatia.

Club career

Early career

Mihajlović started playing organized football with his hometown team NK Borovo. He quickly marked himself out as a talented youngster, making the SR Croatia select squad for the Yugoslav inter-republic youth football tournaments.

In 1986, he was attached to NK Borovo's first team. Playing in the SR Croatia provincial league (third tier competition on the Yugoslav club football pyramid), his first team debut took place on 25 May 1986 against Šparta in Beli Manastir. The match ended 1–1 with Mihajlović scoring a goal. The 17-year-old also got his first taste of professionalism with his first monthly salary being CHF500.

In late 1986, Red Star Belgrade representatives led by scout Kule Aćimović came to watch the seventeen-year-old in a friendly Borovo played against FK Rad, but decided not to sign him.

Then in late spring 1987, with NK Rijeka and Dinamo Vinkovci both seeking to sign Mihajlović, Dinamo Zagreb—led by club president Ivo Vrhovec and head coach Ćiro Blažević—also expressed an interest; their youth players Zvonimir Boban and Robert Prosinečki had been playing with Mihajlović on the SR Croatia select youth team at inter-republic and provincial youth tournaments and recommended him to the team. After seeing Mihajlović in a training session, Blažević took him with the rest of the first team to Sassari for an impromptu getaway between two league matches towards the end of the season, and gave him a substitute appearance in Dinamo shirt in a friendly against local club Torres Sassari.

In September 1987, Mihajlović was invited to join Dinamo's youth squad for a friendly tournament in Salem, West Germany where he performed well. However, no deal was agreed again as the club's head coach Ćiro Blažević felt that Dinamo already had players for the central midfield position that were "just as good if not better", such as incoming Haris Škoro as well as club mainstay Marko Mlinarić and returnee Stjepan Deverić. With Dinamo only prepared to offer a stipend-based agreement rather than a professional contract, Mihajlović decided to continue with NK Borovo.

The decision not to take Dinamo's offer cost Mihajlović a place in the Yugoslavia under-20; head coach Mirko Jozić had told him that he would not be called up for the upcoming FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile unless he signed with the Zagreb club.

Vojvodina

Mihajlović signed for FK Vojvodina in 1988, as part of a group of players acquired by the club, which included defensive midfielder Slaviša Jokanović, and defenders Budimir Vujačić and Miroslav Tanjga. The club won the Yugoslav league title, with Mihajlović scoring four goals in 31 appearances. The following 1989–90 season saw Vojvodina compete in the European Cup for only the second time in their history, but lost in the first round to Hungarian champions Honvéd.

Red Star Belgrade

Mihajlović joined Red Star Belgrade on 10 December 1990 in a high-profile transfer with a transfer fee of DM1 million paid out to Vojvodina. Arriving at a club coached by his old Vojvodina mentor Ljupko Petrović, Mihajlović was brought in to establish a robust presence on the left side of midfield as well as to score set-piece goals. In the European Cup semi-final return leg versus Bayern Munich, Mihajlović scored both Red Star goals—a free-kick opener and the injury time winner with a shot that deflected off Klaus Augenthaler. In the final, Red Star defeated Olympique de Marseille on penalties, after a 0–0 draw at full time, with Mihajlović being one of the shootout scorers.

Mihajlović was also in the team later that year when Red Star Belgrade won the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Colo-Colo 3–0. He was then included by Yugoslavia national football team to UEFA Euro 1992, but the nation was disqualified from the competition by United Nations sanctions due to the Yugoslav Wars.

Roma

In the summer of 1992, amid interest from Juventus, Mihajlović signed for Roma for a reported ITL8.5 billion (~US$5.9 million) transfer fee, at the request of head coach Vujadin Boškov, also a new arrival to Olimpico. The club were looking to improve on their previous season's 5th place league finish.

Mihajlović secured a regular first team spot in the left midfield, and the team finished 10th in the league. Mihajlović also played a significant part in Roma's UEFA Cup campaign where they reached the quarterfinals—losing to Borussia Dortmund in a tie that saw the Serb score a trademark free-kick for a 1–0 first leg lead, before being beaten 2–0 in the return. Due to a long-term injury to Roma's left back Amedeo Carboni midway through the season, coach Boškov moved Mihajlović to the left back position.

The 1993–94 season started with new head coach Carlo Mazzone in charge after Boškov was sacked. In addition to the four foreigners already at the club, the club brought in Argentine Abel Balbo thus increasing competition for three foreign spots. Mihajlović continued as a left back under the new manager. In the 1993–94 season, the club finished 7th, and out of Europe for the second season running.

Years later, talking about his playing days, Mihajlović referred to his stay in Roma as "the two worst seasons of my entire career".

Sampdoria

In 1994, Mihajlović joined Sampdoria, who were the third-placed club in previous season's Serie A standings and the Coppa Italia winners, coached by Sven-Göran Eriksson. Also arriving the same summer were Inter stalwarts Walter Zenga and Riccardo Ferri as part of the deal that took goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca the other way.

In his four seasons at Sampdoria, Mihajlović saw limited success in the Serie A. In the European competitions, however, he helped Sampdoria reach the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semifinal, where they were defeated by Arsenal on penalties.

In June 1998, Mihajlović represented FR Yugoslavia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, playing all Yugoslav matches in the tournament. He scored a goal against Iran, and conceded an own goal against Germany. This made Mihajlović one of five players to score both a goal and an own goal in the World Cup; the other ones being Ernie Brandts, Ruud Krol, Gustavo Peña and Mario Mandžukić.

Lazio

In the summer of 1998, Mihajlović was brought to Lazio by head coach Sven-Göran Eriksson and club president Sergio Cragnotti for £8.5 million. He won his first trophy in Italy as Lazio beat Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana during late August 1998. The club finished 7th in Serie A.

Strengthening the squad for a serious run at the Serie A title, in addition to Mihajlović, the summer 1998 transfer window also saw Cragnotti bring in Dejan Stanković from Red Star Belgrade, established goalscorer Marcelo Salas from River Plate, and finally striker Christian Vieri from Atlético Madrid.