Moving ceremony at Rome City Hall: Relatives and friends said goodbye to Serbian football coach and ex-national player Sinisa Mihajlovic. Prominent figures from the worlds of sport and politics were also present, including Italian Senate President Ignazio La Russa as well as presidents, coaches and players from his former clubs Lazio Roma, FC Bologna, AC Milan, AC Florence, Benfica Lisbon and Red Star Belgrade.

The free-kick specialist played 62 caps for Yugoslavia (10 kills) and one match for Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. Mihajlovic celebrated his greatest club success early in his career with victory in the 1991 European Cup of Nations with Red Star Belgrade.

The Serbian took up his first head coaching post with FC Bologna in 2008, followed by contracts with five other Italian first division clubs and a stint with Benfica Lisbon. Mihajlovic was also Serbia’s national coach in 2012 and 2013.

In 2019, he announced that he had blood cancer, and a year later, therapies comprehensively helped him recover. Despite a relapse, Mihajlovic continued to coach first division club FC Bologna until his dismissal last September. Last Friday, Mihajlovic died in the circle of his family at the age of 53. He is survived by his wife Arianna Rapaccioni and their five children.