head coach Roberto Mancini. Mihajlović and Mancini share a longtime friendship after playing together for five seasons at Sampdoria and Lazio. Mihajlović's free-kick expertise has been praised by Zlatan Ibrahimović, who after several successful free-kicks thanked the then assistant coach Mihajlović who had trained him for two years at Inter. Mancini was fired in June 2008 by club president Massimo Moratti at the end of the 2007–08 season to make way for José Mourinho. Mihajlović left the club on the same occasion. Bologna On 3 November 2008, Mihajlović was appointed to replace Daniele Arrigoni at the helm of Serie A relegation-battling club Bologna. His Serie A bench debut came on 8 November 2008 at home versus Roma. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. His arrival to Bologna bench was characterized by five consecutive league draws before finally winning a match, a 5–2 victory against fellow bottom-feeder rivals Torino on 13 December 2008. Mihajlović was sacked by Bologna on 14 April 2009 in the wake of a 1–4 home defeat against Siena, which dragged the team back into the relegation zone with seven matches remaining in the season. His tenure suffered from media rumours that he had numerous high-profile disagreements with senior players at the club which led to the poor form that eventually cost him the job. Under new head coach Giuseppe Papadopulo, Bologna avoided relegation to the Serie B on the last day of the season with a win over Catania. Catania On 8 December 2009 Mihajlović was appointed new head coach of Catania, taking over from Gianluca Atzori. He signed a contract until June 2011 with gli elefanti, hiring Dario Marcolin—his former teammate at Lazio and colleague on Mancini's coaching staff at Inter—to be his assistant. Arriving at the club placed dead last in Serie A standings, Mihajlović made his debut with a home loss versus relegation rivals Livorno. However, the following week, his team pulled off a stunning upset by beating heavily favoured Juventus away in Turin with a 1–2 scoreline. A successive string of good results, together with a number of key January signings such as former Argentine international striker Maxi López, helped Mihajlović keep the team out of the relegation zone and provide a number of very impressive performances. Another season highlight then came on 13 March 2010, as Catania achieved a historic 3–1 win versus Serie A league-toppers and Mihajlović's former team Inter