On what would have been his 54th birthday, a documentary has shed light on Sinisa Mihajlovic’s final full season with Bologna, sharing a number of touching and emotionally charged moments.
The Serbian coach tragically passed away aged 53 in December of last year following a long battle with leukaemia. A colourful character, Mihajlovic was a modern legend in Serie A and his death touched the world of Italian football, with professionals and supporters united in their grief.
DAZN have released a documentary about Mihajlovic’s final full season with Bologna, the 2021-22 campaign, called ‘We are one – the series’, revealing a number of emotional moments from his time in Emilia-Romagna.
After the Coppa Italia first round defeat to Ternana in August 2021, a furious Mihajlovic demanded an explanation from his players.
“Now I’m going to sit here and we won’t leave until you tell me what’s wrong. I’m in no hurry. We have to spit blood, there’s no other sh*t to do. Without anger we’ll have a f*cked season!
“We have Orsato, I like him, he is a referee who makes people play, so I don’t want to see people throwing themselves on the ground, but fighting.”
When explaining how to beat Atalanta, the Serbian coach had a clear target in mind, saying: “There’s no way Ilicic is going to turn in the middle of three, you have to throw a stick at him!”
Mihajlovic was even more infuriated after the 4-2 loss to Empoli, reprimanding his team, “it’s a disgrace! Shame! Shame! There was no match!”
Later in the season, after Bologna’s shock 2-1 win over Scudetto hopefuls Inter, an excited Mihajlovic expressed his pride whilst speaking to the squad over a video call.
“You were heroic. On the other side there were perhaps better players than you, but you were better men than them. And that is what counts in life.”
Nothing was more touching, however, than Mihajlovic’s final speech to the Bologna squad. Speaking from his room at the Sant’Orsola hospital, the Serbian coach was in tears.
“There were moments when I don’t know how I didn’t go crazy. I didn’t even answer my children because I didn’t want them to see me so tired and weak.
“The children… And do you know what I used to do in those moments? I used to watch your games and I was proud of you.”