Mirko Šarić (6 June 1978 – 4 April 2000) was an Argentine footballer who played as a midfielder for San Lorenzo de Almagro. Since his debut with the professional team in 1996, he has been regarded as one of the most promising youth players in Argentine football.EL ENTRAÑABLE RECUERDO DE MIRKO SARIC
by Julián Marcel on ''El Gráfico'', 4 Apr 2024Se cumplen 19 años del suicidio de Mirko Saric, una de las grandes promesas de San Lorenzo que estuvo a un paso del Real Madrid
by Pablo Cavallero on Infobae, 4 Apr 2019

Club career

Šarić was born in Buenos Aires to Croatian parents. He joined the academy of

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

at a young age, and quickly progressed to make his first team debut in December 1996. He was seen as one of Argentina's top youth prospects, and had been linked to Spanish giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

before his death. After a promising start to his career, a decline in form after being played out of position led to him appearing more as a substitute. In December 1999, while playing in a reserve game against River Plate, Šarić suffered ruptured ligaments in his left knee, which kept him sidelined until his death in 2000. Saric's last official match was on 3 December 1998 v Vélez Sarsfield. He replaced

Walter Erviti Walter Daniel Erviti Roldán (born 12 June 1980) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played mainly as a deep-lying playmaker. Career Club career Erviti began his playing career in 1998 with San Lorenzo de Almagro, where he w ...

on 60'.

Personal life

His brother, Martin, was also a professional footballer until his retirement in 2011. He currently works as a coach for

. Šarić had been dating a local woman for almost a year, and during this time she had fallen pregnant. Both Šarić and his mother had suspicions that he was not the father, backed up by the fact that Šarić had been on youth international duty with Argentina in Japan at the apparent date of conception. At his mother's advice, Šarić paid for a DNA test for himself and the baby, which came back negative. Šarić suffered with depression, which contributed to his death. He had expressed this to San Lorenzo manager Oscar Ruggeri, and was receiving psychiatric help.

Death

On the morning of 4 April 2000, Šarić's mother found him dead in his room. He had committed suicide by hanging.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Šarić, Mirko 1978 births 2000 deaths Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentine people of Croatian descent Men's association football midfielders San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Argentine Primera División players 2000 suicides Suicides by hanging in Argentina Footballers from Buenos Aires