Siniša Mihajlović has died age 53, Serbian footballer and manager
NEW YORK — Siniša Mihajlović (Синиша Михајловић, born 20 February 1969, he was a Serbian professional football player and manager.
During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991, and played for the majority of his career in the Italian Serie A, making 353 appearances for Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan and winning league titles with the latter two clubs.
Un grande uomo oltre ad essere un grande calciatore… Hai sempre dimostrato di essere un guerriero leale. Ciao Sinisa pic.twitter.com/76Rorni2el
— Andrea Pirlo (@Pirlo_official) December 16, 2022
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 A.C. Milan. He was the coach of the Serbia national football team from May 2012 to November 2013 as well.
International career
Between 1991 and 2003, Mihajlović was capped 63 times and scored 10 goals for the national team of Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro. He participated at the 1998 FIFA World Cup where he scored a free-kick against Iran as Yugoslavia reached the second round. He also participated at UEFA Euro 2000. He was sent off in Yugoslavia’s opening game against Slovenia but returned after a one match ban with Yugoslavia reaching the quarter-final.
Personal life and death
Mihajlović was married to Arianna Rapaccioni, an Italian former television presenter, with whom he had five children; three sons and two daughters. On 13 July 2019, Mihajlović publicly announced that he was diagnosed with an acute form of leukaemia, however still stayed on as manager of Bologna. He underwent a bone marrow transplant after three cycles of chemotherapy.
In October 2021 he became a grandfather, after his daughter Virginia gave birth to a baby girl. The father is Alessandro Vogliacco, who plays for Genoa.
Mihajlović died on 16 December 2022 in a Rome clinic following complications of leukaemia. He was 53.
