beyond cursory interest, feeling that Dinamo already had players for the central midfield position that were "just as good if not better", such as incoming Haris Škoro as well as club mainstay Marko Mlinarić and returnee Stjepan Deverić. Apparently, among the things colourful Blažević imparted to youngster Mihajlović on the occasion was a stern suggestion to cut his long hair and be prepared to be the fourth option for a position in Dinamo's midfield. Since Dinamo was unwilling to fully commit to the player—offering just a stipend-based agreement instead of a professional contract—Mihajlović decided to continue with NK Borovo. Not overly keen on the young third-tier league player, to begin with, and thus not too bothered about losing him, Blažević reportedly even joked that "two Mihajlovićs would be too much for Dinamo" in light of the fact Dinamo had already secured an advance agreement with the, at the time more established, Yugoslav First League player Radmilo Mihajlović (no relation to Siniša) about joining the following season. The decision not to take Dinamo's offer was a costly one for young Mihajlović career-wise as the Yugoslavia under-20 head coach Mirko Jozić had already made it clear to the teenager he would not be called up for the upcoming FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile unless he signed with the Zagreb club. Vojvodina On the initiative by FK Vojvodina's sporting director Milorad Kosanović, Mihajlović arrived to Novi Sad in summer 1988 as part of a slate of players acquired by the club during the same transfer window: talented 19-year-old defensive midfielder Slaviša Jokanović as well as a pair of 24-year-old defenders Budimir Vujačić and Miroslav Tanjga. Playing alongside seasoned Yugoslav league veterans like forward Miloš Šestić and goalkeeper Čedo Maras, each one of the four new acquisitions made major contribution on the squad led by also newly-arrived head coach Ljupko Petrović as FK Vojvodina somewhat improbably went on to win the Yugoslav league title ahead of the Big Four clubs. Young Mihajlović immediately grabbed a midfield spot, appearing in 31 league matches, scoring 4 goals. The following 1989–90 season saw Vojvodina compete in the European Cup for only the second time in club history. Though most of the key players from the previous league-winning season remained, Vojvodina stumbled at the very first hurdle versus Hungarian champions Honvéd. Losing the first leg 1–0 away at Budapest, seemingly a decent away result, was still extremely