Genoa – «Genoa is the most important city in Gianluca's sporting history. His name and that of all those Sampdoria players will forever remain in the history of football. And celebrating Gianluca could only be done in Genoa. He was born in Cremona, in Turin he won the European Cup and enjoyed a splendid career finale, but Genoa is really everything.”
Massimo Mauro he was at Gianluca Vialli's side all his life, until the end. And he still does it every hour and every day, through the Foundation that has borne their name since 2003. He is among the creators and promoters of the event “My name is Luca, Ballata per Vialli” which will be held at the Carlo Felice on Monday evening.
You and Vialli, how many hours did you spend talking about Genoa?
«There was always someone or something involving her. They call me from Genoa, my friend from Genoa… the Mantovani family… always something that happily forced us to talk about Sampdoria and those years. And of the things that he would have liked to do or attempt to do in Genoa, which did not only concern Sampdoria, but also his private life. Genoa and Sampdoria, her points of reference.”
So you too will know the dinners of the “Sette nani”, the singing evenings at Overjoyed, the jet skis…
«We all knew Gianluca in the environment, even when we were adversaries. We knew a few things. But then later in the intimacy of friendship all the experiences always entered into the present of our relationship. And then I met everyone, really everyone, the characters who were part of his Sampdoria sporting epic. Regardless of the players, Mantovani, Francesca, Borea… I didn't miss anything about Gianluca. I have always said that that experience should be envied by all intelligent people, because that group brought friendship to triumph with a sporting victory. It was something you couldn't believe, imagine today a footballer promising his locker room that he won't leave until he wins the championship. Then the next day an emir shows up at the door with a millionaire offer… and leaves. Instead that promise was kept. Despite Berlusconi, despite Agnelli they wanted to take away Luca, Mancio, Vierchowod and many others. A pact that resisted because they were bound by a friendship that could not be traced back to money… I can't say what. It was so mysterious that no one would have believed it without that sporting victory.”
How did Vialli remember those years? With nostalgia? Meloncholy?
«What we have known about Vialli in recent years was also present in those in which he was not ill. And that is optimism, positivity, respect. I wouldn't want the message to get across that Gianluca, since he had a serious illness, has become better. There was no need for serious illness to communicate his thoughts, if anything he did it more. He has always exercised leadership without being intrusive in the lives of others, because his example was leadership. In friendship it was even more evident. Next to him you felt safe but busy, under positive stress, because the things we did, that he did, were always and only of the highest level.”
When you became president of Genoa (from 1997 to 1999) did he make fun of you a bit?
«No, it was a professional situation. Gianluca actually helped me understand better in those days. In the end he told me that I was right to accept even if the historical moment was not very favorable for Genoa and for Italian football, Calciopoli would explode shortly afterwards. I will forever thank Gianni Scerni, his wife Savina and their children, for me it was a beautiful and unpredictable human and professional experience.”
You too mentioned several times when speaking about Vialli your failed dream, the presidency of Sampdoria.
“It is well known. I don't know the reasons why that negotiation didn't go through. My feeling is that there was an associate of Gianluca who evidently in the end wasn't so convinced about taking over the club, otherwise they would have done it. In that affair, Gianluca's drive, his love for Sampdoria, wasn't enough on its own… we have to be honest. There were debts to take on and the funds don't have all that love for football. Edoardo Garrone, an exceptional person, had given him a huge hand. For us and our Foundation it is fundamental, it has been with us for twenty years. He has always had an extraordinary relationship with Gianluca.”
Monday evening develops along three lines of Vialli's life: football, music and human relationships.
«Our relationship was made up, I would say, of 80% human relationships, 15% music which he liked very much and 5% football, on which we didn't agree, but which offered us constant food for thought to discuss. We lived 15 fantastic years at Sky together, a wonderful activity that gave us a lot of free time and therefore the possibility of dedicating ourselves almost completely to the Foundation. Gianluca was fundamental in planning the events, he had a strong artistic streak, he offered ideas for talking about literature, music, hobbies such as golf and thinking about events to raise money. And this idea of the evening at Carlo Felice came to me by taking advantage of the many years spent with him, knowing him so well. He always said, let's try to do events that we don't often see around, with a new, fun meaning. So I thought, let's put Luca's tastes and friendships on stage and see what comes of it. I think it will be fun on Monday, that's what he wanted. I would like him to be happy with this staging which has a double meaning. In fact, it could be a joke created by him himself, who pestered us with jokes: each artist will go on stage and create an unprecedented performance on Gianluca. Never seen something like this.”
The first street bearing his name will be inaugurated on Sunday afternoon in Rapallo. More will arrive in the next few years in other cities. How would he take it?
“Honestly I do not know. Luca was also shy, he cared a lot about doing things as he said. In the last twenty years I have witnessed an incredible amount of refusals about things to say and do. Only a man like him could have the strength to refuse, precisely because he was positively obsessed with the quality of what he wanted to say and do. With all due respect for the word “intellectual”, Gianluca was a person who sought perfection, otherwise he wasn't interested. Who is it that sometimes in life hasn't risked it, moving even if he wasn't prepared… Luca, no. If he wasn't 100% he couldn't do it. The bow that there was throughout Europe when it became known of his death was something crazy. If you think about it, it happens for heads of state, for popes, it was the opening story on the news all day. It was honestly a wonderful thing and so maybe he earned it.”
Vialli died in London on the evening of January 5th, the news filtered out the next morning. What do you miss most about him?
“Yes, it is. What do I miss… Being close to him made you continuously improve. But the Foundation allows us in some way, on a daily basis, to always be dealing with the tastes and things that he liked, that we did together, that we must continue to do. Because we owe it to Signorini, to Borgonovo, to all the families of all those suffering from ALS. Research in Italy is extraordinary but unfortunately after thirty years we have not yet reached the winning discovery and we must continue to raise funds. With Gianluca we swore that we would only stop at the victory… it's a joy to deal with the memory of him. Stimulating. Strange, too. In this event that we are about to create, Gianluca is not commemorated, but celebrated, because he was like that, with his behavior he forced us not to be sad. Here, h
is legacy was this, first of all: that of not being sad.”
THE INITIATIVE
The evening for the bomber jacket will be on the 8th at Carlo Felice
On Monday 8 January (9pm) “My name is Luca – Ballata per Vialli” will be staged at the Carlo Felice, an evening to remember the champion who passed away on 6 January at the age of 58. Artists and friends of Vialli will talk about Luca in an event whose proceeds will be donated to the Vialli and Mauro Foundation, for the treatment of ALS.
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