“It is a great loss, for me, for his family first of all and for all of Italian football. I lose a brother, I was hoping for a miracle“. Roberto Mancini expresses his pain the day after the death of his ‘twin’ Vialli in an interview conducted and disseminated by the FIGC. “We met, we talked, joked, he was always in a good mood and this kind of reminds me it solves – says the blue coach -. Our relationship was one of great respect, love, friendship. Luca was joy and he should be remembered like this “.
Vialli death, pain Mancini: ‘I lose a brother, I dreamed of a miracle’
“It’s a difficult time, but we have to try to move forward”, says Mancini who in recent days has been in London to greet Vialli. “I was hoping for something to happen, I sincerely hoped for a miracle – continues the coach – We met, we talked, we joked, he was always in a good mood as usual and this relieved me a bit. I was pleased to see moment”. Mancini recalls his bond with his lifelong friend: “We have lived almost our whole life together, there was a close bond, the one between two brothers. Two people who at a certain point separated in football, but when they are friends , it is forever. Luca was this for me. Our relationship was one of great respect, affection, love, friendship”.
ANSA Agency
The suffrage mass for Gianluca Vialli will be held on Monday at 18.30 in the parish of Christ the King, in Cremona. (HANDLE)
In the national team Vialli had a direct relationship with the young players: “Luca made everyone understand, especially the younger ones, the value of the blue shirt, what you have to do where you could get there. He was a person of great value for us, especially when he spoke to the boys and they liked listening to him. They were very beautiful and important moments. We must continue on this path. Luca was a joyful boy, always cheerful, very few times I saw him angry, he should be remembered like this, for what he really was very lively in every sense, he would like to be remembered for this as well as for being a great footballer, a true professional with an extraordinary charisma. He was a cheerful, young boy who enjoyed life“. Mancini then recalls the docufilm “The beautiful season” on the victory of the Scudetto of Sampdoria which tonight will be broadcast by Raidue. “This film was made above all to show how important friendship is between people who work in the same group and where you can arrive when there is this cohesion: it contains very beautiful memories, there will be tears”.
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An article also traces the way in which he dealt with his illness (ANSA)
“Dear Gianluca, basically it’s a question of hugs. The warm embrace of football fans and enthusiasts that accompanied your outstanding career. The hug that binds you to the people who have had the good fortune to know you and who love you. The hug we exchanged when you accepted the role of head of the blue delegation. Dear Gianluca, you are the special person who has contributed to making a group of ordinary people exceptional, thanks to your ability to make people better with reflections that are never trivial”. Thus, Gabriele Gravina, number 1 FIGC, recalls Gianluca Vialli in a letter.
On Monday, the day in which the funeral of Gianluca Vialli will be celebrated in London with a private ceremony commissioned by the family, in his Cremona there will be city mourning. This was proclaimed by the mayor, Gianluca Galimberti, with an ordinance signed in these hours. “As a sign of condolences for his untimely death, affectionately joining in the pain of his family and also that of his friends and the entire city community”, the mayor ordered that “for the whole day of 9 January 2023, the civic flags on the buildings public are exhibited at half-mast as a sign of mourning” and that at 12 a minute’s silence is observed in public offices and public institutions. The mayor also invited citizens, social, cultural, commercial and productive organizations and the owners of public establishments and private businesses of all kinds, “to promote moments of silence, meditation and remembrance in the appropriate forms”.
From “Legend to Lion King”, the world, especially the one across the Channel, pays homage to Gianluca Vialli. The English press in particular remembers the Chelsea manager and player with emotion, who died yesterday in London at the age of 58. In London where the former striker of Cremonese, Sampdoria, Juventus lived and where he was remembered as an unforgettable figure for the Premier League.
Starting from the Sun which dedicates the opening to the “death of a legend” with a series of photographs and messages from the teams he has coached and played for, while the Mirror describes him as ‘the Lion King of Chelsea’. The Times also hails “The energetic Italy and Chelsea striker who replaced Ruud Gullit as manager at Stamford Bridge and led the club to five trophies. Gianluca Vialli was one of the best strikers in Europe and contributed to the win of Euro 2020 at Wembley”.
For the Daily Mail “if we wanted to sum up Vialli’s career we could do it with that moving hug after the victory in the final of the 2021 European Championship – in that hug with Roberto Mancini there was the love and friendship between two brothers from different mothers who lived a huge chunk of their lives together.Gianluca – one of the few men to hold the position of player-manager at a top club during his time with Chelsea – might have been a prickly and snobbish man, but he was full of heart and emotion”.
In turn, the Guardian recalls that “Vialli, who played for Chelsea during a stellar career before becoming the club’s manager, has won everyone’s hearts”.
ANSA.it
The 58-year-old former forward died in London after battling pancreatic cancer. The long career in photos. The funeral will be private on Monday 9 January in London. THE PROFILE. Last March interviewed by Alessandro Cattelan: ‘Excited to find out what’s on the other side’. The FIGC has ordered a minute’s silence. The pain of Cremona, ‘the city’s mourning is proclaimed’. Fedez: ‘You gave me so much’. Baggio:’Bring your beloved balloon on your celestial journey’ © Ansa
“Gianluca was like a son to me, obviously without taking anything away from his mother who is suffering so much at the moment”: to tell ANSA is Marianna Puolo, the mother of the coach of the national team, Roberto Mancini, remembering Vialli, who passed away yesterday at the age of 58. “Everyone knows of the strong bond that has always united my son to Gianluca, the pain we have inside is immense and I dare not imagine what his family members are feeling”, adds Marianna. “We have followed Gianluca together with Roberto since his days at Sampdoria, we have practically seen him grow up, at the moment it is also difficult to find the words”, continues Mancini’s mother. “We are all saddened, it is really a difficult moment. In a short time my son has lost Gianluca, Sinisa (Mihajlovic, ed) and a dear childhood friend”, concludes Marianna. Yesterday, as soon as she heard the news of Vialli’s death, Stefania Mancini, the coach’s sister, also said goodbye to Gianluca with a post on Facebook: “Goodbye, great man and champion, we will miss you”.
“In these moments I’m not very comfortable talking, especially about Luca who, together with Roberto Baggio, was undoubtedly the example most important thing I had as an eighteen-year-old when I arrived at Juventus”. It is the touching memory of Alessandro Del Piero who wanted to pay homage to Gianluca Vialli during the broadcast on Sky ‘Calciomercato – The original’. “It was a Juve full of many players – says Del Piero – with many champions, but the two of them, who came from winning the UEFA Cup, and for what they represented in the national team and for the forwards in general, were number nine and number ten par excellence”. Then he adds: “They were enormous for me, Luca in particular became my captain and that’s how I want to remember him, that’s how I always called him, even lately. He was on the pitch and off the pitch. It was the first time, when I was attached to the first team and he invited me to eat with everyone in Turin. Luca had a reassuring, decisive voice, a character who inspired not only confidence but also charisma, determination, the desire to stick out his chest and face any kind of challenge, regardless of the fact that it might seem insurmountable”.
