Italy coach Roberto Mancini reflected on the death of his lifelong friend Gianluca Vialli, calling his passing ‘a great loss for Italian football’.
The former Sampdoria and Juventus striker sadly passed away on Friday aged 58 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was working as the delegation chief for the Italian national team, working alongside Mancini, but was forced to step back from his role in December after his health took a turn for the worse.
Vialli was a member of the Italy set-up that won Euro 2020, where he shared a poignant moment with Mancini after the penalty shoot-out in the final.
Speaking to the Azzurri’s media department, Mancini reflected on the death of his friend Vialli.
“It’s a great loss for his family, for me, for Italian football. It’s a difficult moment but we have to move forward. I was hoping for a miracle. We saw each other, talked and joked. He was in a good mood, as always, and that kind of lifts you up a bit.
“I was glad to see him calm. We have lived almost all our lives together, we have always had a brotherly bond, even if football-wise we later split up. But our friendship remained steadfast, based on great respect and enormous affection.”
The Italy coach then commented on how Vialli transmitted the values of the Azzurri shirt.
“Yes, and we must continue on this path. He was very good at making young players understand the value of the shirt, how to behave.
“He willingly talked to them and they listened to him with great attention and admiration. There were very beautiful and important moments.”
It’s been a difficult period for Mancini, who also lost friend Sinisa Mihajlovic less than a month ago. The Italy coach was a pallbearer at the former defender’s funeral.