Sinisa Mihajlovic was remembered by his former clubs Lazio and Bologna ahead of tonight’s Coppa Italia match, as his children reveal he had called Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola to visit them in England just before his death.
The Serbian had perhaps the most intensive periods of his career at these two clubs, as a player for Lazio and as a coach at Bologna, which is also where he was first diagnosed with leukaemia in July 2019.
He continued to work even from his hospital bed using video links, but the illness returned after a bone marrow transplant and he died on December 16, 2022.
His wife Arianna and their children stood together watching the footage on the screens of Mihajlovic’s career at both Lazio and Bologna.
“A special night awaits us at the Stadio Olimpico, we will experience many emotions and the whole stadium will be there for our dad, both Lazio and Bologna fans to remember Sinisa,” his children wrote in the match programme.
“Along with all of this we also feel the pain that he is no longer with us and that is frankly difficult to get used to.”
A new centre to bring together bone marrow donors is being launched in Rome soon, named after Sinisa Mihajlovic, and the jerseys worn by Lazio and Bologna players today will be auctioned to raise funds.
His health deteriorated rapidly in the last few weeks of his life, as Mihajlovic’s sons reveal there were plans and excitement after he was sacked by Bologna on September 6.
“We remember the day before he went back into hospital for the last time, he was happy, calling all his friends. He made a call to Conte and Guardiola, as he planned a trip to England to update himself on professional techniques.
“We don’t know if he made those plans to give himself something to look forward to, or if it was some sort of final swansong. Let’s just say in the final month we knew things were in a very bad way. The first bone marrow transplant went well, the second less so, as a week later the test results were already anomalous.”
Many Bologna fans were furious that the club decided to fire Mihajlovic in September, but his children assure there were no regrets.
“It was a professional decision, nobody at the club knew his condition would deteriorate, just as we didn’t know at the time. Bologna did so much for him and dad always responded with immense strength.”