Bologna replace Mihajlovic with Papadopulo

Former Yugoslav international defender Sinisa Mihajlovic became the latest Serie A coaching casualty on Tuesday when he was fired by Bologna.

Giuseppe Papadopulo takes over the hot-seat with Bologna sitting in the relegation zone, one point from safety with just seven matches left.

Mihajlovic only took over in November from the sacked Daniele Arrigoni, who paid for a run of eight defeats in nine matches, including a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of then relegation rivals Cagliari.

The Serbian, who had previously been assistant to Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan, initially got off to a good start, going unbeaten in his first nine league matches in charge.

However, Bologna have won only once in their last 10 games and lost their last four, including a dire 4-1 home defeat to Siena on Saturday.

Papadopulo has previously had short spells in charge of Lazio and Palermo and last season led Lecce into Serie A before leaving the club in the summer after failing to agree a new contract.

He was nicknamed ‘il Papa’ (the Pope) during his days as boss of Siena from 2001-04 as he led them from Serie C to Serie A.