Sinisa Mihajlovic

Sinisa Mihajlovic holds the Serie A record for direct free-kick goals with 28—exceeding #10 Alessandro Del Piero's 22—including an unprecedented hat-trick for Lazio against Sampdoria in 1998, the only free-kick hat-trick in top-flight football history. His left-foot technique, bending the ball at speed over walls with a late downward arc, produced 12 Champions League free-kick goals, a competition record for defenders. His 46-meter free-kick for Lazio against Roma in 1999, struck at 135 km/h, is the fastest recorded Serie A free-kick. Mihajlovic's tragic passing in 2023 after battling leukemia highlighted his resilience beyond football.