Sinisa Mihajlovic, who played for and coached numerous Italian Serie A teams and was famed for his spectacular free kicks, died on Friday at the age of 53, the family of the Serie A icon said in a statement on Friday.

His wife Arianna and their five children deplored the "unjust and premature death" of Mihajlovic who played for numerous clubs in Italy and competed in the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships for the former Yugoslavia.

He later became a coach, largely in Serie A and most recently with Bologna, where he was working when he was diagnosed with leukemia just before the 2019-20 season.

His coaching career was less distinguished than his on-field achievements in Serie A, where he won the title with both Lazio and Inter Milan and was a prominent player when the league was considered the world's strongest.

Mihajlovic moved to Roma in 1992 from Red Star Belgrade, where he won the European Cup, but he is best known for his time at Lazio.

He won the Serie A title, two Italian Cups and the Cup Winners Cup in his six-year spell with Roma's fierce cross-town rivals, and remains a hero figure among Lazio supporters.

Mihajlovic jointly holds with Andrea Pirlo the record for free-kick goals scored in Serie A, netting 28 times from dead ball situations.

"The courage he showed on the field of play was only second to that which he showed in the face of a serious disease which never weakened his spirit," according to a Lazio statement upon his passing.

(With input from AFP, Reuters)