According to Serie A confirmation, former Serbian defender Sinisa Mihajlovic passed away on Friday (16.12) at the age of 53, after a long battle with illness. He was diagnosed with white blood disease in 2019.
Information posted on the website of the Football Federation of Serbia reads: "Sad news for football Serbia, the region, Europe and the world of football" Sinisa Mihajlovic has passed away. Rest in peace Sinisa.
Football lost too early a European and world champion, one of the best free kickers in the history of football, a player, a coach, a person who left a deep impression in the history of Serbian and Italian football with his career, Fiorentina club shared.
Mihajlovic won the European Cup C1 with Red Star Belgrade in 1991, before becoming one of the players who made a strong impression on Italian football through his stints at AS Roma, sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan.
He made more than 60 appearances for the national team from 1991 to 2003, playing for the Southern Russia team (old) at the World Cup and EURO.
After finishing his playing career in 2006, Mihajlovic moved to become a coach and manager of clubs such as AC Milan, Fiorentina and even the Serbian national team.
Mihajlovic was most recently sacked from the position of head coach of Bologna club in September, after 142 matches. He received the Serie A Coach of the Month award in April this year.
In the minds of football fans, the most famous aspect of Mihajlovic is his free-kicking talent. He is one of the best free kickers the football world has ever seen.
Mihajlovic is often listed with David Beckham, Juninho Pernambucano and Lionel Messi when referring to the best finishers from set pieces outside the box.
Mihajlovic may have played as a centre-back for most of his career, but every time he made left-footed attacks like a hammer, the opponent always knew that there would be trouble.
And there was no match that summarized the best talent on the day where Mihajlovic scored a hat-trick from free kicks in a Serie A match. On December 13, 1998, Mihajlovic scored the most remarkable feat, something rarely seen in top-flight football, in Lazio's 5-2 win over sampdoria.
