Roma left-back Aleksandar Kolarov reveals he took Siniša Mihajlović as the inspiration for his famous free-kicks.
The Serbian is a set piece specialist, and it’s from his compatriot that he first took inspiration.
“Every time I lined up a free kick, my goal was to get my neighbours to lean over the fence and yell at me,” Kolarov revealed in a lengthy piece for the Players’ Tribune.
“That’s how I knew I really hit it well. So over and over again … big run-up, left foot, nice, dipping free kick. Bang.
Roma left-back Aleksandar Kolarov reveals he took Siniša Mihajlović as the inspiration for his famous free-kicks.
The Serbian is a set piece specialist, and it’s from his compatriot that he first took inspiration.
“Every time I lined up a free kick, my goal was to get my neighbours to lean over the fence and yell at me,” Kolarov revealed in a lengthy piece for the Players’ Tribune.
“That’s how I knew I really hit it well. So over and over again … big run-up, left foot, nice, dipping free kick. Bang.
“I wanted to be Siniša Mihajlović. He could bang them. He played in the midfield for Red Star, the big club in Belgrade.
“They were … legends — beyond legends. They won the European Cup, right before it became the Champions League, in 1991. I was just six years old, but that was such a huge moment for the sport in our part of the world.
“At the time, there was already a lot of political turmoil and confusion, and being in our city … it wasn’t easy. And to see that, in the biggest club tournament in the world, players like us, who grew up like we did, could have success — it was massive.”