Some tributes are polite. Others carry actual emotional force. The ceremony in Rome on 30 September 2026 belonged firmly to the second category, because the Premio Speciale alla Memoria dedicated to Sinisa Mihajlović was not treated as a routine gesture. It was delivered to his family in the Sala Spadolini of the Ministero della Cultura, and it came wrapped in the kind of symbolism that football does best when it remembers one of its own properly.
Mihajlović was described as an indimenticato calciatore e allenatore serbo, and that is exactly how this moment should be understood: not as a ceremonial footnote, but as a public recognition of force, courage, determination and the connection he built with people around the game. In an era when so many awards are quickly forgotten, this one was built to last.
A tribute with substance, not just sentiment
The evening was part of the Premio Eccellenza Euro-Mediterraneo 2026, held in Rome, and the memorial award was accompanied by an artwork dedicated to Mihajlović by Benito Macerata. That matters. Football tributes can sometimes feel thin, all applause and no depth. This one had a different texture because the remembrance was expressed in both formal recognition and visual art.
Macerata made the intent plain when he said that handing the work to Mihajlović’s family was a gesture of great human and symbolic significance. He also said that, through art, he wanted to honour Mihajlović’s figure, his courage, his determination and the values he transmitted on and off the pitch. He added that Mihajlović’s memory continues to live through the affection of those who knew, respected and admired him, and that the painting was offered as a sign of respect and deep regard.
That is the right tone for a figure like Mihajlović. Not exaggerated, not sentimental for its own sake, but direct and sincere. The award was presented in front of several named football figures, including Francesco Totti, Christian Vieri, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Moggi, which only reinforced the sense that this was more than a private family tribute. It was a public footballing acknowledgement of a man whose presence still registers strongly.
And that is what gives the event its significance. A memorial can easily become decorative if it lacks a proper centre. Here, the centre was Mihajlović himself: his force, his courage, his determination, and the fact that his memory still commands respect in the game. The award to his family and the artwork by Benito Macerata gave that respect a shape people could actually see.
For Associazione Sportiva Roma, and for everyone else present in the football world, the message was simple enough. Some names do not fade just because time moves on. Mihajlović remains one of them.
