Zizovic, 44, collapsed on the sidelines during his team’s game against Mladost Lucani and was immediately treated pitchside before being rushed to hospital.
Players broke down in tears after FK Radnicki 1923 coach Mladen Zizovic died on Monday following a collapse during a Serbian SuperLiga match, according to BBC Sport’s reporting.
Zizovic, 44, collapsed on the sidelines during his team’s game against Mladost Lucani and was immediately treated pitchside before being rushed to hospital. The match, which initially continued, was abandoned shortly before half-time when news of his death reached the stadium.
Footage showed players and officials from both sides visibly distressed upon learning the news. Zizovic, a former Bosnia and Herzegovina international, had only been appointed manager of FK Radnicki 1923 on October 23.
“Our club has lost not only a great professional but above all a good man, a friend, and a sportsman,” Radnicki said in a statement. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association described him as “a true football professional” whose passing “represents a great loss for Bosnian-Herzegovinian football.”
The Football Association of Serbia also paid tribute, saying, “Your love for football and the mark you left will remain with us forever.” Leading clubs, including Red Star Belgrade, sent condolences to his family and team.