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Siniša Mihajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Синиша Михајловић; born February 20, 1969) is a Serbian former football player turned manager. He is the current head coach of Serie A side Catania, being appointed at the helm of the Sicilians on December 8, 2009 as a replacement for dismissed coach Gianluca Atzori.[2] Mihajlović has 63 caps and scored 9 goals for the Yugoslav and Serbia and Montenegro national team. He played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 tournaments. He is known as one of the best free kickers of all time[3][4].
[edit] Early lifeBorn in Vukovar, SR Croatia, near to the border of SR Serbia, Mihajlović was born to ethnic Serb Bogdan, a tractor driver and Croat Viktorija, a worker at a Italian clothing factory[5]Both parents declared themselves Yugoslavs. The family lived in the village of Borovo. During the Yugoslav Wars his best friend, an ethnic Croat, destroyed the Mihajlović household while Siniša played in Belgrade, Serbia for top club FK Red Star. They had shot at the head of his portraits[5]. His uncle on his Croatian side called his mother and said that they were going to kill her husband (the father of Siniša) however a few months later the Serb Volunteer Guard (Arkan's Tigers) liberated/took over Borovo and his uncle was one of the captured Croatian soldiers, they found an adress book with the phone number to Siniša, called him and asked him about the fate of his uncle, Siniša decided to spare his life[5]. He was part of the golden generation of Yugoslav players who won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile, but was not selected in the team that went for the tournament. [edit] Playing careerAt club level, Mihajlović started his career in Yugoslavia, playing for NK Borovo (1986–1988), Vojvodina Novi Sad (1988–1991), and Red Star Belgrade (1991–92). He won the European Cup in the 1990–91 season with Red Star Belgrade. In the final, Red Star defeated Olympique de Marseille on penalties, after a 0-0 draw at full time, with Mihajlović being one of the scorers. Mihajlović was also in the team later that year when Red Star Belgrade won the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Colo Colo 3-0. In 1992, Mihajlović moved abroad to play for Italian club Roma. He played two seasons at Roma, helping the club finish 10th and 7th in the Serie A championship. In 1994, he joined defending Serie A bronze medalists from Sampdoria. In his four seasons at Sampdoria, Mihajlović saw limited success in the Serie A. In the European competitions, however, he helped Sampdoria reach the semi-final of the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where they were defeated by Arsenal. In June 1998, Mihajlović represented Yugoslavia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, playing all Yugoslav matches in the tournament. He scored a goal against Iran, and conceded an own goal against Germany. This made Mihajlović one of only four players to score both a goal and an own goal in the World Cup; the other ones being Ernie Brandts, Ruud Krol, and Gustavo Peña. In the summer 1998, Mihajlović was brought to Lazio by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He won his first trophy in Italy in 1998, as Lazio beat Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana. With Lazio, Mihajlović reached the final of the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, winning the last edition of that competition with a 2-1 victory against RCD Mallorca. Lazio also won the 1999 UEFA Super Cup. Playing 26 games and scoring seven goals during the Serie A 1999–2000 season as Lazio won the second Scudetto in club history. Mihajlović completed the double by helping Lazio win the 2000 Coppa Italia. Mihajlović represented Yugoslavia internationally again, as he selected to compete at the Euro 2000 tournament. In the first Yugoslav game of the tournament, Mihajlović was sent off against Slovenia. He served a one-game suspension before playing the last two games of the tournament. In December 2000, Mihajlovic came under investigation following alleged racist remarks towards Patrick Vieira. The remarks fell during an October 2000 match against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League. The racist remarks were revealed to be "black shit," which Mihajlović conveyed back to Patrick Vieira, in English. Mihajlović subsequently apologized, but contended that his words were in retaliation to Vieira's racist remarks, calling Mihajlović a "gypsy shit."[6] On 7 November 2003, Mihajlović received an eight match suspension by UEFA for spitting at and kicking Chelsea's Adrian Mutu during a Champions League game.[7] He won his last trophy with Lazio in 2004, beating Juventus in the Coppa Italia final. In the summer 2004, Mihajlović was released from Lazio and joined his friend and former teammate Roberto Mancini at Internazionale on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal. On 9 April 2006, in a league away game versus Ascoli, Mihajlović scored his 27th career free-kick goal in the Serie A championship, an absolute record. Mihajlović ended his playing career after the 2005–06 season, having one Serie A championship, two Coppa Italia trophies, and a Supercoppa Italia title as an Inter player. [edit] CoachingMihajlović started a coaching career in Inter, as assistant to head coach Roberto Mancini. He was fired by Internazionale on 29 May 2008, as Mancini also left the club. His speciality in free-kicks have been praised by Zlatan Ibrahimović[8], who after several successful free-kicks in FC Barcelona thanked the then assistant coach Mihajlović who had trained him for 1-2 years at Inter[9]. [edit] Bologna FCOn 3 November 2008, Mihajlović was appointed to replace Daniele Arrigoni at the helm of Serie A relegation-battling club Bologna.[10] His Serie A bench debut came on 8 November 2008 at home versus Roma. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. His debut as head coach with Bologna was characterized by five league draws in a row before finally winning a game, a 5–2 victory against fellow bottom-feeder rivals Torino on 13 December 2008. Mihajlović was sacked by Bologna on 14 April 2009 in the wake of a 4-1 home defeat against Siena, which dragged the team back into the relegation zone with seven games remaining. His tenure suffered from media rumours that he had numerous high-profile disagreements with senior players at the club which led to the poor form that saw him relieved of his duties.[11] Under new head coach Giuseppe Papadopulo, Bologna avoided relegation to the Serie B on the last day of the season with a win over Catania. [edit] Calcio CataniaOn December 8, 2009 he was appointed new head coach of Catania, taking over from Gianluca Atzori.[2] He signed a contract until June 2011 with the Elefanti.[12] Arriving at the club that was dead last in Seria A standings, Mihajlović debut with a loss versus Livorno. However, the following week, his team pulled off a stunning upset by beating heavily favoured Juventus away in Turin with a 1-2 scoreline.[13] [edit] Honours
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: 1969 births | Living people | Football (soccer) central defenders | Serbian footballers | Serbian football managers | Serbs of Croatia | FK Vojvodina players | Red Star Belgrade footballers | A.S. Roma players | U.C. Sampdoria players | S.S. Lazio players | F.C. Internazionale Milano players | Bologna F.C. 1909 managers | Calcio Catania managers | Serie A footballers | Serie A managers | Expatriate footballers in Italy | 1998 FIFA World Cup players | UEFA Euro 2000 players | Pre-1992 Yugoslav footballers | Pre-1992 Yugoslavia international footballers | Serbia and Montenegro international footballers | Serbo-Croats | Romani footballers | People from Vukovar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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