Chelsea legend John Terry paid respect to his former coach Gianluca Vialli at Stamford Bridge: ‘ I will always be so grateful for believing in me and giving me my debut.’
Vialli joined Chelsea from Juventus in 1996 and was a player and coach for the Blues. Terry was one of those making their senior debut under Vialli at Stamford Bridge and the ex-England international honoured the former striker at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
“Paying my respects to Luca at Stamford Bridge. RIP Luca, you will forever be remembered and I will always be so grateful for believing in me and giving me my debut.” he wrote on Instagram.
“In the FA Cup final in 2000 you put Jody Morris, Jon Harley, Carlo Cudicini & myself on the bench and told us we were the future of Chelsea. When you arrived at Chelsea, you had so much time for the young players, the discussions we used to have I will always treasure and remember. You were such a great man, full of life and energy and you will be missed so much. Love JT, LEGEND.”
A giant picture of Vialli, messages and bunches of flowers were placed outside Stamford Bridge after his death on January 6. Terry was at the spot yesterday and looked sincerely moved.
Vialli’s funeral will be held in London this week in a strictly private form.
Chelsea honoured Vialli before their FA Cup against Manchester City on Sunday, by wearing a No.9 shirt during the warm-up.
His former Serie A clubs Cremonese, Sampdoria and Juventus also paid respect to Vialli before their league matches last weekend.