After a harsh dismissal at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, the former AC Milan boss has recovered well since taking the reigns at the Granata.
Jointly leading the Serie A goalscoring charts, Andrea Belotti is getting much of the plaudits for Torino’s fine start to the campaign, yet coach Sinisa Mihajlovic should be queuing up for an equal share of the adulation as well.
The 47-year-old may have inherited a Granata side that finished 12th last term but was also following in the footsteps of a man, Giampiero Ventura, who had just spent half a decade overseeing matters on the pitch in Turin.
A somewhat controversial personality throughout his career, the Serbian could easily have torn apart a team that had underperformed during the veteran tacticians final 12 months at the Stadio Olimpico.
However, while there have been some notable new faces in the starting XI – Joe Hart, Iago Falque and Adem Ljajic – they were hardly those the former AC Milan coach could ignore, and integrated alongside the development of existing young talent such as Marco Benassi and Antonio Barreca.
The Torino hierarchy also showed insight appointing Mihajlovic this summer, as many would have been put off by someone who had been cast aside by a Serie A giant like the Rossoneri, but the Granata appear to recognise there has been more than a little instability at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza of late.
Admittedly nine defeats in less than a year is always hard to swallow for a club of Milan’s stature, but the Milanisti were relatively understanding of the unnecessary pressure heaped upon him and his predecessors.
Mihajlovic has not always had such a positive effect during his short coaching career – during two seasons with Fiorentina failing to take them from mid-table also-rans to European challengers, and his first appointment at Bologna ended after just six months.
That spell with the Rossoblu can largely be attributed to the fact that decisions made when fighting relegation can often be erratic, and the following season was seen guiding Catania to unexpected mid-table security.
However, it wasn’t just his overachievement in the standings that convinced the Viola to take him to Florence in 2010, but the style in which the Sicilians performed during the ex-Lazio defender’s time on the island. Something Granata fans are now witnessing at the Olimpico.
Impressive 5-1 victories over Bologna and Cagliari have come amongst several high scoring encounters, with Torino failing to break their opponent’s defensive resolve on just two occasions.
This is something that younger Serie A followers – remembering a robust style of defending and set-piece proficiency with Lazio and Inter – may find surprising, expecting a more pragmatic approach from Mihajlovic the coach.
However, as part of a Red Star Belgrade team still regarded as one of the finest of the early 90’s, the Serbian is well versed in technically astute attacking football that he also contributed to at Sampdoria.
At Torino, full-backs Barreca and Davide Zappacosta are encouraged to advance at every given opportunity, and the freedom with which he allows Falque and Ljajic to attack opposition defences flies in the face of any defensive misconceptions.
Just four points off the Rossoneri in the Champions League qualification place, on current form Chievo and Sampdoria, should be brushed aside before far stiffer tests against Juventus and Napoli appear on the horizon.
Should they then enter the Christmas break within touching distance of the top two, a wider audience may be alerted to the work Mihajlovic is doing in Turin, but there should be few surprised by the effect he is having with the Granata.
