It all started with a head, a muzzle to muzzle and a thousand tension. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sinisa Mihajlovic – who on Thursday will perform on the stage of the Ariston Theater in Sanremo singing the great success of the Nomads “Io vagabondo” – some time ago they faced each other on the field – as opponents – with the same aggressive attitude with which both face life. The warhead was given fifteen years ago. Mihajlovic was ending his career at Inter, Ibrahimovic had just arrived at Juventus.
The championship was at stake, but also pride.
The two have the same origins. Before the disintegration of Yugoslavia they would have called themselves brothers. Mihajlovic was born in Vukovar, in Serbia, son of a truck driver. He left his country at the age of twenty, in time of war, just to come and play in Italy. Ibrahimovic is a summary of mestizo identities. He was born in Malmo, Sweden, where his parents fled to escape the war. His father Sefik, Bosnian, bricklayer, alcoholic; the mother Jurka, Croatian, cleaning lady. Zlatan and Sinisa started from an early age to punch life, not to be overwhelmed.
And for both of them it was a life full of edges. Ibra’s complicated childhood, Mihajlovic’s disease. War as a wound to be carried inside. It was two women who balanced both of them. Arianna, wife of Sinisa. Helena, wife of Zlatan. It is also thanks to them that Ibrahimovic and Mihajlovic are who they are. Men with a hypertrophic ego, fighters, warriors of life but also old boys with unsuspected fragility. They have gotten closer in recent years.
“With Sinisa I would also go to war”, Ibrahimovic said. And Mihajlovic always spends words to honey for the friend who in the painful and empty days of the illness made him feel his affection. “There are few players in the world capable of making you win games alone – said the coach – and Zlatan is one of them”. It is no mystery that exactly one year ago, before Ibrahimovic’s arrival at Milan, Mihajlovic asked the Bologna managers to buy him.
«Come on friend and brother, I knew you were the strongest of all», so Ibra – relieved – greeted Mihajlovic’s recovery some time ago. The two were together – in the same team – for two years, from 2006 to 2008, at the time of Inter coached by Mancini: Ibra on the pitch, Mihajlovic on the coach’s staff and two championships to put on the bulletin board. “We are the same, we come from the Balkans,” said Sinisa proudly speaking of his friend. “I would have gone to Bologna only for my friend Sinisa”, replied Ibrahimovic. And on Thursday they will sing together at the Sanremo Festival. I wander. A title that is also a philosophy of life.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
