Siniša Mihajlović

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Siniša Mihajlović
Синиша Михајловић
Personal information
Full name Siniša Mihajlović
Date of birth February 20, 1969 (1969-02-20) (age 39)
Place of birth    Flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vukovar, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defensive Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current club Unemployed
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1988-1991
1991-1992
1992-1994
1994-1998
1998-2004
2004-2006
FK Vojvodina
Red Star Belgrade
AS Roma
UC Sampdoria
Lazio
Internazionale
73 (19)
38 (9)
54 (1)
110 (12)
125 (22)
24 (5)   
National team
1991-2003 SFRY / FRY 63 (9)
Teams managed
2006-2008 Internazionale (assistant)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Siniša Mihajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Синиша Михајловић) (born February 20, 1969 in Vukovar, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Serbian football player. Born in Vukovar, he grew up in the Borovo Naselje borough. 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 Euro 2000 tournaments.

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[edit] Biography

Mihajlović was born into a mixed marriage, Serbian father Bogdan and Croatian mother Viktorija, the couple registered as Yugoslavs. He could have played for either Croatia or FR Yugoslavia (now Serbia) but chose Yugoslavia since he felt more Serbian due to the war and his religion. He was part of the golden generation of Yugoslav players who won the 1987 World Youth Cup in Chile, but was not selected in the team that went for the tournament.

At club level, Mihajlović started his career in SFR Yugoslavia, playing for NK Borovo (1986-1988), Vojvodina Novi Sad (1988-1991), and Red Star Belgrade (1991-1992). Arguably his biggest success at club level is winning the European Cup in the 1990/91 season with Red Star Belgrade. In the semifinals against Bayern Munich, played in Belgrade, Mihajlović scored a key goal from his typical free kick situation. In the final, Red Star Belgrade defeated Olympique 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 A.S. 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, as Sampdoria established itself as a mid-table club. 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 F.C.. 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 S.S. Lazio by then Lazio manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He won his first trophy in Italy in 1998, as Lazio beat Juventus FC in the Supercoppa Italiana. With Lazio, Mihajlović reached the final of the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, winning the last edition of that competetion 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 1999-00 season, Mihajlović was an integral part of the Lazio team which won the second Serie A championship 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 Yugoslav 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 F.C. in the UEFA Champions League. The racist remarks were revealed to be "black shit," which Mihajlovic conveyed back to Patrick Vieira, in English. Mihajlović subsequently apologized, but contended that his words were in retaliation to Vieira's racist remarks, calling Mihajlovic a "gypsy shit."[1] On 7 November, 2003 Lazio's Sinisa Mihajlovic received an eight match suspension by UEFA for spitting and kicking Chelsea's Adrian Mutu during a Champions League game.[2] 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 team-mate Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal. On April 9, 2006, in a league away game versus Ascoli Calcio Mihajlović scored his 27th career free-kick goal in the Serie A championship, an absolute record. Mihajlović ended his playing career after the 2005/2006 season, having one Serie A championship, two Coppa Italia trophies and a Supercoppa Italia title as an Inter Milan player. He started a coaching career in Inter, as assistant to head coach Roberto Mancini. In August 2006, Mihajlovic was reunited with Patrick Vieria, who joined Inter Milan from Juventus FC.

He got fired by Inter Milan on May 29th 2008, as Roberto Mancini also left the club.

[edit] Honours

  • Yugoslav Footballer of the Year: 1999

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gabriele Marcotti, Making Mihajlovic into a villian not really fair, CNN Sports Illustrated, January 2, 2001.
  2. ^ Uefa bans Mihajlovic, BBC Sport, November 7, 2003.

[edit] External links