Farewell Sinisa Mihajlovic, you will never be forgotten

It is the day we had been fearing ever since the moment he announced the leukaemia diagnosis in July 2019. Even a warrior like Sinisa Mihajlovic couldn’t win this fight. He was always one of my favourites, first as a player and then a coach, even and sometimes especially because he had such a difficult character. It was never boring with the Serbian firebrand, on or off the field.

The first time I went to the Rome Derby, I proudly purchased a Sinisa Mihajlovic calendar outside the Stadio Olimpico and had it on my wall, long after the months and that year had gone by. It was forever exhilarating to see him step up to a free kick, knowing exactly what would happen next. There were only really two options – it was on target or it hit the woodwork. No blasting into the wall, no ballooning into the stands, it was always, ALWAYS accurate.

The further out the free kick, the more he liked it, getting that vicious dip on the end. I fondly recall watching Lazio play Manchester United in the 1999 European Super Cup when Miha prepared the run-up on a set play a good 35 yards from goal and the English commentator said: “He’s not going to try it from there, is he?” Of course he was and it thumped the frame of the goal, much to the shock of the pundits who clearly had never seen him before.

This was the only man ever to score a hat-trick of free kicks in a single Serie A game and it’s honestly surprising he didn’t do it more often. Working with him in training once he had become a coach must’ve been disheartening for any player, knowing they could never hope to replicate his skill and sheer consistency. Never mind Andrea Pirlo or Roberto Baggio, if you ever wanted a genuine guarantee from a free kick, you’d pick Mihajlovic every time. It’s sad he was not known more on an international level for his free kick prowess.

When he was talked about outside of Italy as a player, it was usually for something bad like his clash with Patrick Vieira or his close rapport with certain unpleasant figures in his homeland. By his own admission later in life, he had always seen everything as a battle to be fought, everyone not as a rival, but an enemy. It helped motivate him through difficult times, but he realised it was an unhealthy approach and looked back on it with a degree of shame.

In the years after his diagnosis, he softened considerably, stopping to smell the flowers and appreciate the little things in life. I could see he relished every moment, especially when begging his doctors to let him out of the hospital for a few short hours to sit on the bench in that first Bologna match of the 2019-20 season. He looked so frail, but so very proud and pleased to have kept the promise to his players.

The way he left that first press conference to be greeted in a huge embrace by hundreds of Bologna ultras. Waving out of the hospital room window as the players swung by to serenade him after their Serie A victory. He bridged gaps even before his illness, representing both Roma and Lazio, both Inter and Milan, proudly Serbian and also an honorary Italian. Everyone felt like there was some connection to him throughout that career as player and coach.

It wouldn’t be right to only have him be so sweet and kind, though. One of the reasons I was so fond of the man was his spiky personality. The first time he got into an argument with a pundit in the studio during a post-match interview, that was when I thought to myself: Yes. Sinisa is BACK. He always was a fiery fellow and seeing him stand up for his players and ideas was reassuring.

Much as he loved being embraced by the Calcio world, he couldn’t stand being seen as a victim and had to bite back every now and then, just so people remembered he was the same old Miha. It’s why he refused to be treated differently because of his illness and responded to the sacking at Bologna with zero self-pity.

It was that passion that made him so loved and admired by his players, fans and colleagues. He never did anything by halves, it was all or nothing. Sinisa Mihajlovic was one of a kind and he will never, ever be forgotten.

@SusyCampanale