Bologna’s season has long carried the memory of Sinisa Mihajlovic, but his example has also mattered away from the first-team pitch. Ludovico Riccioli, a 29-year-old physiotherapist working with the club’s youth sector, has returned to work in recent weeks after treatment for an aggressive form of blood cancer.
Riccioli’s illness is now in remission. Last April, however, he was diagnosed with primary mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma after a 10-centimetre mass was found in his chest.
Quick facts
- Ludovico Riccioli is 29 and works as a physiotherapist in Bologna’s academy.
- He learned last April that he had primary mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- The disease presented with a 10-centimetre mass in the chest area.
- Bologna arranged for a club doctor to accompany him to examinations and appointments.
- Although self-employed, Riccioli was told to take the time he needed at home while continuing to receive payment.
- His condition is in remission and he has recently resumed work.
The club remained close throughout the treatment period, offering practical as well as personal support. Bologna assigned one of its doctors to be alongside Riccioli during medical checks and hospital visits, while assuring him that his role would be waiting for him when he was ready to return.
Riccioli chose not to withdraw from public view during the hardest months. Through his social media accounts, he documented daily life during treatment and his rehabilitation, while continuing to exercise within limits set by his condition.
He said the purpose was not simply to record his own recovery. “I began using my profiles to make videos about how I was facing the tumour,” he explained. “Despite everything, I was able to keep training, with the methods and effort adapted to my illness.”
That routine became part of a wider message for others undergoing similar treatment. Riccioli said it was important to show that even in such a serious situation, people do not have to surrender to it.
Young patients facing the same ordeal began contacting him, as did mothers writing on behalf of their children. The exchange gave a further meaning to a fight that had begun within Bologna’s working community but reached beyond it.
Mihajlovic’s lasting example
For Riccioli, Mihajlovic became a point of emotional reference despite the two never meeting. During his own illness, the Bologna staff member returned to videos and interviews in which the former coach spoke about his battle with leukaemia.
“For me, he is an example,” Riccioli said. “I watched his videos and interviews again while I was ill. He showed enormous strength, and he passed that strength on to me at a difficult time.”
The connection was strengthened by a visit from Mihajlovic’s son Miroslav, who came to greet Riccioli and offer support. It was a small gesture in a private struggle, but one that underlined how deeply Mihajlovic’s courage continues to echo around Bologna.
