A football manager who tragically died of a heart attack after collapsing pitchside during a match has complained about the food he had eaten earlier in the day, it has been claimed. Mladen Zizovic, the manager of Serbian top team Radnicki 1923, fell ill during the first half of Sunday night’s match against Mladost.
The match resumed after Zizovic was taken to hospital for emergency treatment. However, the game was called off 20 minutes after the players learned of their coach’s death, and the players collapsed on the pitch in grief. The former Bosnia and Herzegovina international is only 44 years old and only joined Radnicki on October 23rd.
In a statement, the club said: “It is with deep sadness that we inform the nation, our fans and our sporting fraternity of the passing of head coach Mladen Zizovic during the match between Mladost and Radnicki 1923 in Lucani last night.
“Our club has lost not only a great specialist, but above all a good person, friend and sportsperson. He left a deep mark in the hearts of all who knew him with his knowledge, energy and nobility. Football Club Radnicki 1923 sends its deepest condolences to his family, friends and all those who shared his love of football. Rest in peace, Mladen.”
Now, one of the players who was on the pitch when the news broke, Mehmed Kosic, said that Zizovic had complained about the fish he had eaten for lunch a few hours earlier.
Kosic told Factor: “I didn’t sleep until almost 3.30am. I was speechless and stunned. I was playing the movie in my head. He was giving me instructions and I turned around and at one point I saw him talking to the referee by the bench.”
“Then he turned to our bench and turned to the other bench and said, ‘I’m not feeling well, I’m not feeling well.’ He went down and you could see everything else. Screams can also be heard in the video posted on social media.
“They said he complained about the fish and said he wouldn’t eat it anymore. That’s what he was talking about. There were no problems during the warm-up, the match started and everything was fine. We continued with the match hoping that the worst would not happen and that he would be with us again.”
“It was clear that wasn’t the case, but we told him we were playing for him and we wanted to reward him with a win. We weren’t focused and didn’t believe it, but we didn’t want to let him down.”
“We believed he would come back and be with us again and celebrate the victory. Then the complete shock happened. The referee suddenly stopped the match. Someone said, ‘He’s dead.’ Everything stopped in an instant.”
Radnicki 1923 players and staff were given a week’s leave to mourn the death of their coach. The fight against Kukaricki, scheduled for next weekend, has been postponed, and a funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
Zizovic’s former team, FK Borak Banja Luka, paid a sad tribute to their former coach, who coached them in the Conference League last season. The Bosnian side said, “Boss, our Jiza, we can’t believe you left us.”
“We are shaken by the terrible news that has arrived at Platanova 6 and do not want to admit that we will no longer see you smiling, we will no longer hear you joke at the expense of yourself or others, we will no longer hear you talk about the football to which you have dedicated your life.
“You left us at the age of 44, but we can only remember every moment you spent at the City Stadium, first as a player and then as a coach, achieving the greatest success in Europe in our history.
“We will never forget that you gave your best to Borca and Banja Luka and that we wrote an eternal story. It is difficult to accept that you are gone. Life is cruel and can quickly take away the best from us.
“It remains with us that you will continue to live on through us and that we will carry on the story of Mladen Zizovic, the man, husband, father, brother, son, coach and footballer. Young man, may your glory be forever, Banjalka and Borak will remember you forever.”
