Thousands lined up in Genoa to celebrate the life of former Sampdoria striker Gianluca Vialli in a special church service that spilled out into the city streets.

Vialli became a legend for Samp when he took them to their one and only Scudetto, also winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, three editions of the Coppa Italia, the Italian Supercup and reaching the European Cup Final.

He died on January 6 at the age of 58 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer and his funeral was held in London this week.

Along with his hometown of Cremona, Genoa was the other city closest to his heart thanks to the eight years spent here playing for that Sampdoria side.

A special church service was held in his honour this afternoon and it was so packed that crowds spilled out into the city streets into Piazza De Ferrari.

Many former players were present, including Gianluca Pagliuca, Moreno Mannini, Ivano Bonetti, Attilio Lombardo, Beppe Dossena, Fausto Pari, Giovanni Invernizzi, Marco Branca, Giulio Nuciari and Marco Lanna.

Samp fans turned it into a football event with chants, fireworks and banners, with the daughter of former Sampdoria President Paolo Mantovani joining in.

The local council lit up the Palazzo della Regione building with a message: ‘Ciao Gianluca.’

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