Siniša Mihajlović

Siniša Mihajlović was born in Vukovar, Croatia (then Yugoslavia), to a Serb father and a Croat mother. Beginning his career with Borovo and Vojvodina (winning the 1989 Yugoslav championship), he joined Red Star Belgrade in 1990, playing a crucial role as Red Star won the European Cup in Bari and the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo in 1991.

Moving to Italy in 1992, Mihajlović played for Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio, and Inter Milan. Endowed with a left foot of terrifying curling power and pinpoint precision, he scored an all-time Serie A record 28 goals directly from free kicks, famously scoring a hat-trick of free kicks in a single Serie A match for Lazio against Sampdoria in December 1998. At Lazio, he won the 2000 Serie A scudetto and the 1999 European Cup Winners' Cup. He later enjoyed a distinguished managerial career, coaching the Serbia national team, Milan, and Bologna, inspiring millions through his fierce bravery fighting leukemia from the dugout.