The funeral of Gianluca Vialli will be held privately in London .
Yesterday another mourning, the fourth in a few days, shocked the world of football: the death of the center forward of Sampdoria of the Scudetto and Juve of the last Champions League, of the manager of the Italian national team, fresh European champion.
Vialli was struck down at the age of 58 by pancreatic cancer with which he had been battling since 2017 , he died in the London clinic where he was hospitalized. It was understood that the situation was deteriorating on 14 December, when he announced that he had to leave every job in the blue to get treatment. « I have decided to suspend, hopefully temporarily, my present and future professional commitments. The goal is to use all the psycho-physical energies to help my body overcome this phase of the disease », his latest public statements.
Even as the disease took him away, he thought of others. To the daughters he would have liked to "bring to the altar". To his parents, he always said he didn't want to die before them because the thought of making his loved ones sick destroyed him more than the disease that was consuming him . He went around wearing a sweater under his shirt, a way – he thought – to prevent others from noticing that «life partner he would have liked to do without» who was taking weight off him.
The fourth disappearance in the space of three weeks , after those of Mihajlovic, O'Neill and Pelé.
A sneaky disease is pancreatic cancer , difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to cure. Only 8% survive for 5 years, we like to think that he succeeded because fate wanted to give him time to live - as head of the national delegation - the triumph at the European football championship . That victory with the blue shirt that was the only thing he was missing in his immense career as a footballer. What's more, with his lifelong friend on the bench, that Roberto Mancini, his twin from the goal in Sampdoria who won the Scudetto and came close to the Champions Cup.
Great condolences from the football world. And not only. A minute's silence will be observed in all Italian stadiums on the occasion of the 17th day of the championship.
For Vialli the message of Gigi Riva ("Champion of sport and life"), of his Chelsea partner Gianfranco Zola ("Hello Luca, travel companion"), of Cagliari Calcio ("An example forever"). Tommaso Giulini also dedicated a message to him on his social profiles: «Always with a smile, socks down, cuffs, the habit of team photos always kneeling instead of squatting, bicycle kicks and much more. Great Gianluca!».
Calcio, è morto Gianluca Vialli: aveva 58 anni
(Unioneonline/L)