Football Coach Dies After Collapsing During Match

Mladen Zizovic, head coach of Serbian top-flight club FK Radnicki 1923, has died after collapsing from a heart attack during a league match. He was 44 years old.

The club announced his death on Instagram late Monday, saying, “With the deepest sorrow we inform the public, fans and sports friends that our chief of the coaching staff, Mladen Zizovic, died during tonight’s game between Mladost and Radnicki 1923 in Lucani.” The club also sent “sincere condolences to his family, friends and everyone who shared the love of football with him.”

The incident happened in the first half of the Serbian Super League game at Mladost Lucani. Play stopped as medical staff rushed to assist Zizovic. The match resumed after he was taken away, but when word spread that he had died, the game was stopped completely as players fell to the ground in shock and grief.

Local media reported that Zizovic’s heart “exploded.”

Zizovic, who briefly played for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national team, had joined Radnicki just two weeks earlier.

The Serbian Football Federation expressed deep condolences to his family, club, and the entire football community, describing his passing as “a profound loss for Serbian and regional football.”

Born on December 27, 1980, in Rogatica, Bosnia, Zizovic started his football career with Mladost Rogatica. As a midfielder, he played for several clubs, including Radnik Bijeljina, Rudar Ugljevik, Zrinjski Mostar, KF Tirana, and Borac Banja Luka, before retiring in 2016.

He began his coaching career in 2017, managing teams such as Radnik Bijeljina, Zrinjski Mostar, Sloboda Tuzla, Borac Banja Luka, Al-Kholood in Saudi Arabia, and Shkupi in North Macedonia.

His sudden death is a huge loss to Balkan football, where he was respected for his passion, skill, and leadership.

Source: ESPN