«We play in the sky not in the championship way, with losers and winners every Sunday, but in the oratory way, with endless shots on goal in endless games. Paradise resembles an oratory field». The bishop of Cremona Antonio Napolioni celebrates the mass in remembrance of Gianluca Vialli not in the city’s Cathedral, but in the parish of Christ the King, the one in the neighborhood where the footballer grew up. It was precisely in the field of this oratory that he had begun to play.
It was right there mother di Vialli to ask that mass be celebrated here. Maria Teresa, 85 years old, could not be there, stopped by the fever. Also absent is the footballer’s father, 92 years old. Instead, there were the brothers Marco, Nino, Maffo and their sister Mila with their grandchildren. All a side chapel.
In front of the altar the shirts of his teams, Cremonese, Sampdoria, Chelsea, Juventus, the blue and yellow one of the Champions League he won, and the national team. In the early stages, the youngsters from Cremonese, the president of the team, the mayor of the city.
«Gianluca is a man who lived with a smile on his face in sport, in his family, in friendship», said the bishop, «especially when life got tough. Those who face difficulties head on, those who reflect on them, those who choose how to fight against evil and are able to put this experience to good use teach us a great lessonLuca loved life to always face it like this, with this generous intelligence. Because I can give up on illness, but never on desperation».
Many of his friends from Cremona, many of his comrades Juventus, Sampdoria and the national team: Roberto Bettega, Angelo Peruzzi, Ciro Ferrara, Alessio Tacchinardi, Gianluca Pessotto, Moreno Torricelli, Gianluca Pagliuca, Chicco Evani, Attilio Lombardo, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Marco Branca, Fausto Salsano, Michele Padovano, Riccardo Ferri and Pietro Vierchowod.
Many wanted to leave a memory. «Luca was everything: not only for those who were lucky enough to know him, but also for the strength and courage he had in his illness. The way he taught people to never stop fighting. Luca must be just an example for everyone», says Attilio Lombardo, with Vialli at Sampdoria and Juve and part of Mancini’s staff in the national team. Fausto Salsano: «When he said something it was always important, his depth was great. When we listened to him we were always left with our mouths open».
Ciro Ferrara: «My first thought goes to Gianluca’s family. They were really very hard days for everyone, but Gianluca would certainly have wanted a cheerful ceremony as has always been in his spirit. The thing that distinguishes it, he was much stronger off the field than on the field, is his upbringing. This is the thing that perhaps pleasantly surprised me, a polite boy who always made himself available to others as only great captains can do. Luca, thank you for the journey we made together».
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Source: Vanity Fair
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