Gianluca Vialli wanted to say goodbye to his former Sampdoria teammates just days before his death, reveals Beppe Dossena. ‘He wanted to see us all together for one last time.’
Vialli, Dossena, Roberto Mancini and Attilio Lombardo were all part of the legendary Samp squad that won their one and only Serie A title in 1990-91, the Cup Winners’ Cup, three Coppa Italia trophies, the Italian Supercup and reached the European Cup Final.
In mid-December, Vialli flew from his home in London to Genoa, where the gang had gathered for the presentation of a documentary on that Samp squad.
“He wanted to see us all together again,” Dossena told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“It was a celebration, in a way Luca saying goodbye. We were all happy, but then I’d look at Luca and was filled with sadness. He was so skinny, was struggling to walk. Nobody mentioned the illness, but I could tell he was fighting against the physical pain so he could be with us one last time, with that Samp squad that he loved so intensely.
“He could barely stand up. He knew he was saying goodbye to us for the last time, but still had no intention of giving up. After a few days, he returned to London and was admitted to hospital.”
Vialli passed away in London on January 6, at the age of 58, several years after he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“Attilio Lombardo gave me daily updates, but despite knowing it was a matter of days, you are still never prepared when it happens,” continued former midfielder Dossena.
“I was with Attilio when we got the message and we burst into tears. You see a lifetime pass before your eyes, remember a thousand situations together. Grief is egotistical really, because you want people to stay with you even when they are in pain.
“Luca was in a lot of pain recently and we must find peace in the idea he is now walking through that tunnel of light. There’s no doubt, Luca is someone who brings people together, so he wouldn’t want us to cry for him. I still talk about him in the present, because his vitality remains immortal. A positive, optimistic man, even when facing illness.”
Dossena gave a few anecdotes about his tie playing with Vialli in that Sampdoria squad, as well as the Italy team, always coming back to his wonderful sense of humour and mischief.
“One day he was convinced everyone was passing the ball to Mancini rather than him, so he burst into the locker room at half-time and demanded to know why.
“Cerezo replied: You are a centre-forward, you just shut up and wait. We all ended up laughing and joking. That was Luca. That is Luca.”
A minute’s silence will be held before every Serie A match this weekend to remember Gianluca Vialli.
Awesome read thanks for the story. Almost always putting others ahead of himself , except for when he’s wearing the 9
The prototype centre forward 😂😂💔💔