At the end of March 2022, Bologna coach Mikhailovic announced the news of his leukemia recurrence at a press conference, after which he temporarily left the team and went to the hospital for active treatment.
However, no one expected that just nine months later, Mikhajlovich's family would release an obituary announcing that he had tragically passed away on December 16.
Although the Qatar World Cup had entered its most intense match at this time, the news of Mihailovic's death still made fans sad, and for a while everyone recalled the highlight of Mihailovich's hat-trick with 3 free kicks, and lamented that the football world was missing another legendary star.
When it comes to Mikhailovic's free-kick hat-trick, it's about his spectacular game at Lazio 24 years ago.
At that time, Mihailovic's Lazio and Sampdonia met in Serie A. On the penalty, Mikhailovic used his left foot to open a curved free-kick, which left the opposing goalkeeper defenseless and went straight into the goal.
After scoring, Mikhailovic ran to the coach excitedly and said, "This doesn't count, I'm going to have another one." He soon got a chance to take a free kick and he was again in a dead corner, and when the ball went in, the audience applauded. Mikhailovich excitedly said that he wanted another one. Sure enough, he got another chance to take the free kick and blasted another brilliant goal to win 5-2 against Sampdonia. He is also known as the only free-kick hat-trick winner, and he has scored a total of 43 free kicks in his Serie A career, a record that no Serie A player has surpassed him, so he is also known as the "free kick master".
Mikhajlovic was born in 1969 in Vukovar in eastern Croatia. Although Mikhailovich's town was swept through the war, his love for football made him aspire to be a professional footballer from an early age. At that time, he often played with his friends in the streets, until he discovered his talent in shooting, he made the practice of free kicks his main training content every day, he used the metal door of his home as a goal every time, and kicked the ball into the goal day and night, and the loud noise made the neighbors overwhelmed and complained about him many times, but this still did not stop his determination to practice free kicks.
Mikhailovic first played for his hometown of Vukovar NK Borovo until 1988, when he signed a contract with Vojvodina and actually played in the professional league. Vojvodina was not a strong team at the time, but since Mikhailovic had Mikhailovic in the league in 1988 and 1989, they played amazingly, beating several giants to win the championship.
In 1990, Mikhailovic transferred to Red Star Belgrade for 500,000 euros, and it was at that time that he helped the team take the lead with a free kick, eventually winning the Champions League and then winning the UEFA Intercontinental Cup.
Mikhailovic is still a generalist, no matter where the coach places him, he can play with ease, such as he has played left midfielder, left back, central midfielder and left winger, etc., he has never been picky about the arrangement of coaches.
After gaining fame, Mikhailovic moved to Roma and began his Serie A journey. However, he made only 29 appearances for Roma, which was mediocre, so he later moved to Sampdoria, becoming a core member of the team and helping the team secure a place in the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup.
In 1998, on the recommendation of coach Eriksen, Mihailovic returned to Rome and joined Lazio to continue his Serie A journey, and in the match against Samp, Mikhailovic did not expect that his 3 free kicks were not only recorded in history, but also made him the glorious protagonist on the field.
Mikhailovic has a very obvious free-kick character, with a quick first speed, with a maximum speed of 171 kilometers per hour and an accuracy rate of 92%.
Since Mikhailovic's ball always flies into the goal against the upright, and that angle is simply an area that the goalkeeper cannot save, the goalkeeper has nothing to do with his free kicks, and the former Bayer Leverkusen manager has said that to crack his free kicks, at least two goalkeepers must be used, and this is the only way.
Despite Mikhailovic's dominance in Serie A, he regretted that the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia prevented him from fulfilling his ambitions, but despite contributing 43 free kicks in Serie A, winning not only the league, Coppa Italia, the Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, but also becoming a football superstar in Serie A.
In 2006, Mikhailovic retired from Inter Milan at the age of 37. He said in the interview that he could have played another season, but he decided to retire early so that when people talk about him, they will still see him as a top player.
In fact, at that time, many stars could not stand the temptation of drug beauty, broke out various scandals, their football career and physical condition will also be greatly affected, but Mikhailovic is a clear stream, he has always maintained his love for football, and takes every opportunity to play as a performance moment, so the media has always evaluated him very well, and he has also accumulated good popularity, and stayed in Serie A football as a coach after retiring.
However, Mikhajlovic's coaching career is much bleaker compared to his brilliant results.
When he was Bologna's head coach, he had to terminate his contract early due to a few wins and defeats in 22 matches.
Subsequently, Mikhailović successively took over the coach of teams such as Catania, Fiorentina and Sampdoria, and even served as the head coach of Serbia, but due to the low winning percentage, he did not coach these teams for long.
After going around in circles, Mikhailovic returned to Bologna, who were struggling to be relegated.
Mikhailovic then led Bologna to 17 matches. Under his strategic arrangement, the team won 7 consecutive wins in one fell swoop, becoming a dark horse at that time, and eventually jumped from the relegation zone to the top 10 in the league. Mikhailovich's coaching career was reborn, and even Roma offered him a generous offer to become a manager.
Roma is one of the top giants, not only rich in talent, but also with deep pockets. But Mikhailovic is a lover, and he is not willing to give up the Bologna team he built, so he chose to stay.
However, just as Mikhailovich's coaching career was spring, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. If chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation is not rushed, as the disease worsens, it will infect the lungs, resulting in heart failure and life-threatening death.
After learning the seriousness of his illness, Mikhailovich collapsed, not out of fear, but because of his beloved family. He then adjusted his mentality and announced his condition at the press conference, saying that he would fight the disease and believe that he would win.
Mikhajlovic looked back on his life and encountered many difficulties, but every time he got through the difficulties with strong will and ability, so after his illness, he has always maintained a positive and optimistic attitude, on the one hand, he had to undergo endless chemotherapy, on the other hand, he overcame physical discomfort and guided the players to train through videos.
Around the 40th day of treatment, Mikhailovich went to the game site to give tactical command to the players, despite the advice of the attending doctor. In order not to infect Mikhailovich, whose immunity is extremely weak, the doctors had to protect him before allowing him to leave.
On that occasion, fans saw Mikhailovic emaciated by chemotherapy, and the Bologna players showed high morale on the field because of his appearance. Towards the end of the match, Mikhailovic left in a hurry, and he had to rush back for the next stage of chemotherapy in order to return to the field sooner.
In 2020, Mikhailovich's bone marrow transplant was successful, and as his body slowly recovered, he finally returned to the Bologna team, but after all, it was a body that had been affected by the disease, and after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, he was infected again, fortunately, there was no danger, he safely passed the dangerous period.
In March 2022, Mikhairovich held a press conference to announce the news of the recurrence of leukemia. Like a true fighter, he clenched his fists to indicate that he would treat aggressively and return to the ring again.
During Mikhailovic's hospitalization for chemotherapy, the Bologna players were so eager to give him a big gift that they played unbeaten for the next six Serie A rounds. During the victory over Inter Milan, they also visited Mikhajlovic together during the victory over Inter. They stood downstairs chanting Mikhailovich's name, and as Mikhailovich poked his head out, they sang inspirational ballads. The loud singing made Mikhailovich, a tough guy, unable to help but burst into tears.
In September of the same year, Mikhailovic officially stepped down as head coach of Bozhenia due to his worsening illness. However, no one expected that this tough guy, who was never afraid of any difficulties, would finally say goodbye to the world he once loved so much after 3 months, and only left his wonderful free kick to the fans who loved him.