Blerim Dzemaili described “the most difficult moment” Bologna players faced during coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s leukaemia treatment.
The coach was diagnosed in July and had three rounds of chemotherapy, as well as last month’s bone marrow transplant.
“Last summer, from one day to the next, we found ourselves without our commander. It was a real shock,” midfielder Dzemaili told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Blerim Dzemaili described “the most difficult moment” Bologna players faced during coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s leukaemia treatment.
The coach was diagnosed in July and had three rounds of chemotherapy, as well as last month’s bone marrow transplant.
“Last summer, from one day to the next, we found ourselves without our commander. It was a real shock,” midfielder Dzemaili told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“Now he is returning to us at the right time, but we missed him so much. He was in contact with us as much as possible and I spoke to him several times, but we only ever discussed the squad and nothing else.
“It did him good to keep working and find something to focus on. As soon as he got out of hospital, he’d come to us at the Casteldebole training ground.”
Now Mihajlovic is discharged and starting the long road to recovery, but it seems the video conference calls during his treatment weren’t always a regular feature.
“The three weeks we didn’t hear from him after the bone marrow transplant, that was the most difficult moment for us. In some games, I think having his voice in the locker room could’ve changed the result.
“However, we knew this was a key stage in his treatment and now he’s back. We really need our coach.”