Real Madrid star David Alaba hit the headlines by bizarrely lifting a chair over his head after Karim Benzema’s third goal last night, unintentionally paying tribute to former Italian coach Emiliano Mondonico who would have turned 75 yesterday.
The Austria international celebrated Benzema’s winner lifting a chair on the touchline last night, screaming at the Bernabeu crowd in the main stand. Serie A lovers immediately noticed a similarity with what Mondonico had done 30 years earlier.
One of the most famous moments in Mondonico’s coaching career was when he lifted up a chair in the air to protest against the referee after his side Torino were not awarded a penalty kick in a historic 1992 UEFA Cup Final lost against Ajax on aggregate.
Mondonico earned five promotions to Serie A during his career as a coach with Atalanta, Torino, Fiorentina and Cremonese. A former striker, Mondonico is also the best scorer in the history of Cremonese, with 88 goals scored.
Mondonico died on March 29, 2018, and would have turned 75 yesterday, so Alaba’s celebration was even more meaningful even if he probably didn’t know that Mondonico had done the same 30 years earlier.
Don’t you sit in our chair! pic.twitter.com/lmJAMyM8UD
— David Alaba (@David_Alaba) March 9, 2022
A legend