Mihajlovic saved her life, now Nikolina is destroyed by pain: “I can’t take it anymore”

With the funeral of Sinisa Mihajlovic in Rome ended the journey on earth of the Serbian champion, whom thousands of people said goodbye to on Monday, including his fraternal friends Mancini, Lombardo and Stankovic, who carried the coffin on their shoulders outside the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Martyrs along with Bologna players De Silvestri, Soriano and Arnautovic.

Just yesterday the term ‘warrior’ was used for the man from Vukovar, who died at the age of 53 from the acute myeloid leukemia that struck him in 2019: “The warrior won with the sweetness of fragility, true strength“, Matteo Zuppi, Cardinal Archbishop of Bologna, said in his homily that the family wanted him to officiate at the funeral.

Sinisa Mihajlovic was born in Vukovar on February 20, 1969: died aged 53

A phrase that’s the surface to scratch to discover Sinisa’s big heart under the image of the tough player and the ‘sergeant’ of the bank🇧🇷 The loving husband and father Mihajlovic is one of the faces of the big jump man. There’s one person in particular who knows what he’s talking about: his name is Nikolina Radunovich and today he is 26 years old. She was four and a half years old when she underwent heart surgery: an operation that saved her life and which would not have been possible without Mihajlovic’s providential help.🇧🇷

The little girl had a congenital heart defect: something could have been done in London, but it was costly. At this time, a letter came to Sinisa through a person who lived near Vukovar, in which the story was told to him. Mihajlovic, who at the time was playing for Lazio, did not hesitate to take personal action, putting his money first and also involving his teammates. Nikolina underwent heart surgery in April 2001 in Rome, at the Bambin Gesù hospital.

Nikolina Radunovic is in excellent health today

From that moment on, the paths of the girl and Sinisa parted: the Serbian champion would spend the last pennies of his career at Inter, then join Roberto Mancini’s coaching staff as an assistant and start his coaching career from there, while Nikolina would have a normal career life, becoming the woman she is now. A woman absolutely devoted to the man who revived her 21 years ago. When in July 2019 Mihajlovic announced that he had leukemia, the girl published a wonderful post on Facebook in which she voiced all her feelings for Sinisa.🇧🇷

🇧🇷The first news I read today concerns Sinisa Mihajlovic – wrote Nikolina immediately on July 13, 2019 – ‘He is sick’, they say, ‘he is fighting for his life’. My sinisa? Sinisa, whose photo occupies my phone screen? Sinisa was a man, a soccer player, a patriot, a humanist, a father, a husband and great in every way. 19 years ago you made my life possible. You made it possible for me to be who I am now, live the life I live, walk the paths I walk, feel, want, love. I wish I could help you like you helped me. But I can not. My only help will be in prayers for another victory for you. I will pray to God, in the hope that he will not forget your generosity and reach out to you as you have extended it to thousands of people in your half century. Miha the legend… Miha the king… Miha…🇧🇷

Words loaded with emotion, which today leave room for inexplicable pain when you are told that Mihajlovic is no longer here🇧🇷I heard everything, I can’t believe it… Miha, my savior, he’s gone, it’s not possible… It’s terrible, I can’t take it anymore🇧🇷

Nikolina today still lives in Podgorica with her parents and is a bright girl who has her whole life ahead of her: “I could never thank Sinisa, see him, hug him or do anything for him – told Corriere dello Sport 3 years ago – It’s possible to have a special feeling for someone you’ve never met, and that’s my feeling for Mihajlovic, because he saved my life. He is my hero, I wanted everyone to know what a great man Sinisa Mihajlovic is“. Last Friday, the day of her hero’s death, Nikolina posted one word: “Thanks“. Yes, everyone knows who Sinisa Mihajlovic did.