Former Fiorentina director Pantaleo Corvino, now at Lecce, reveals why Sinisa Mihajlovic turned down the Inter job. ‘He told me he’d made a promise.’
Working for Inter was always a dream for the Serbian, who had been there as a player and then as assistant manager to his great friend Roberto Mancini.
He had that opportunity in the summer of 2011, but refused to break his word and that chance never came back round again.
“I hired him after Cesare Prandelli left and it was not an easy situation to be in,” former Fiorentina director general Corvino told the Corriere Fiorentino newspaper.
“He paid a price for that all season, as the fans and media generally were diffident towards him. He still managed to get a great second half of the season, as only Scudetto-winning Milan amassed more points than Fiorentina, which shows how well he was working.
“It was that summer I realised just how strong a man he was, even more than as a professional. At the end of the season, Marco Branca called and said he was working on bringing Sinisa to the Inter bench.
“I knew he would risk the sack by staying in Florence, seeing the general mood towards him, so I pushed him to accept their offer. I knew what it would’ve meant to him and it was an opportunity to leave as a winner.
“Sinisa replied he had made a promise to the Della Valle brothers who owned the club and signed the contract for two years, so he would only leave if they gave the all-clear.
“The Della Valle brothers decided to stick with him, but unfortunately my prediction was accurate and he was fired in November. That decision remains an open wound and always will for me.”
Despite that incident, Mihajlovic and Corvino remained very good close up until the tactician’s death on Friday at the age of 53, over three years since the initial leukaemia diagnosis.
“We were in contact to the end. I tried to catch the first flight to Rome when I heard he was nearing the end, but I was too late.
“When he came back to the Bologna bench after treatment, the first away game was at Lecce, so he came to visit and we had a lovely dinner together.
“Unfortunately, I realised even then this was his last fight and he wouldn’t win this one. The animal, which was what he called the illness, was too strong.
“What remains is my pure and sincere rapport with a great man who I will never forget.”
Mihajlovic is lying in state at the church in Rome ahead of the funeral on Monday morning.
Fans, players, coaches and directors have been passing through to pay their respects, with the event livestreamed to ensure everyone can say goodbye.