Sinisa Mihajlovic was not only one of the best defenders in football’s history but also a talented coach under who many players made their Serie A debut, from Gigio Donnarumma to Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Mihajlovic died of leukaemia on Friday, December 16, aged 53.
Scorer of 38 goals in 315 games as a footballer in Serie A, Miha had begun his coaching career as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Inter.
He then worked for Catania, Fiorentina, Serbia, Sampdoria, Milan, Torino, Sporting CP and Bologna. The Rossoblu sacked him at the beginning of September.
Many players have made their debut under the ex-Serbia international. The most notable one is probably Gigio Donnarumma who was barely 16 when Mihajlovic started him in a Serie A match against Sassuolo in 2015.
DONNARUMMA PAYS TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO MIHAJLOVIC
“Adriano Galliani asked me if I was joking,” Mihajlovic recalled in his biography.
“I had decided, it was not about age. At that moment, I saw in Donnarumma’s eyes the same future as Francesco Totti’s.”
Davide Calabria had made his senior debut with Milan under Pippo Inzaghi in 2014-15 but became a regular starter for the Rossoneri under the Serbian tactician.
Joaquin Correa made his Serie A debut for Sampdoria in February 2015 with Mihajlovic in charge and the same is true of Tomiyasu, Arthur Theate and Aaron Hickey at Bologna and Sasa Lukic at Torino.
TOMIYASU AND HICKEY JOIN BOLOGNA PLAYERS SAYING GOODBYE TO THEIR FORMER COACH MIHAJLOVIC
Wisdom Amey was the last youngster to make his Serie A debut under Mihajlovic this past May, aged 15.
Mihajlovic also had a strong impact on the careers of Alessio Romagnoli, who he signed at Milan for €30m in 2015, Roberto Soriano and even Francesco Totti. It was Mihajlovic, in fact, to suggest Vujadin Boškov give the Giallorossi legend his senior debut for Roma in a home match against Brescia in 1993.