Massimo Mauro: “The Carlo Felice crowd scored. The love between Vialli and Sampdoria will never die”

Genoa – The emotions of “My name is Luca. Ballad for Vialli” they are still alive in the hearts of the over two thousand present at Carlo Felice on Monday evening. After the champion's wife, Cathryn White-Cooper Vialli, it is Massimo Mauro who thanks Genoa for the response received. The bomber's close friend, organizer of the event, continues to carry out Vialli's mission to help research to cure ALS with the “Vialli and Mauro Foundation”.

This is his message of thanks: “I never thought that the twelfth man on the pitch could make the difference in a football match, to the point of determining the victory. Instead it happened. It happened at the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa, where I realized that the “paying public” can not only be the extra man, but the show itself. Let me be clear: I have always believed in the drive of the fans, in the strength of the chants that lead to goals. Then you turn and see flags and scarves everywhere, moving, talking to you. You feel kidnapped by a collective delirium. This is what normally happens on the pitch. In Genoa, however, the ball was kicked into the net by the bond between the glorious love story between Vialli and Sampdoria, which will never die. One year after Gianluca's death, on January 8th, brought together by the Foundation that bears his and my name, in a charity evening to finance research on ALS, in front of the Ducal Palace, in the splendid theater of the city, 2400 people came. And it was immediately a celebration. Many generations together have revived the myth of Luke. The memories of Roberto Mancini, of Pep Guardiola, of him and our friends of him, of the Samp d'Oro of the Scudetto, of Francesca, the daughter of the great president Mantovani, marked a moment of great emotion. The interventions of the artists Neri Marcorè, Paola Turci, Dario Brunori were important. However, the theater really stopped when the choir rose for Gianluca Vialli. A choir as big as the hearts of those who lived in Carlo Felice at that moment. Three minutes of tribute as long as a lifetime. Pure magic. Viaticum towards an unforgettable evening. Under the direction of Ilaria D'Amico and Tommaso Labate, extraordinary characters took turns on stage. In addition to those already mentioned, I cannot fail to mention Gigi Buffon, Gianluca Pessotto, Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Di Canio. And the contributions of Giorgio Porrà, Fabio Caressa and Paolo Condò. However, the times were dictated by the public. It is as if the stage adapted to the audience and the voices of the gallery. A perfectly harmonious game of mirrors. Not even Mario Brunello's cello could be missed. The silence of the Theater accompanied the notes and images of Vialli's technical virtuosity, while the Maestro's touch made Luca's goal an art. When first Fedez and then Sofia Vialli appeared, our breath stopped. Everything went silent. Luca's daughter asked me how many people will I talk to. Don't worry, from the stage you can see everything is dark – I said. And instead the public illuminated her story. Sofia recalled how much her dad loved being mistaken for Bruce Willis. And how happy she was when the London nurse had confused him with the “Die Hard” actor and denied the resemblance to the Chelsea manager. An anecdote that brought smiles to the room. But the Carlo Felice Theater didn't fall for it. On behalf of the city of Genoa and all of us, the “paying public”, by standing up and applauding Sofia, however wanted to recognize that the legend was not the actor, but the former footballer, our forever friend, his father. Luca”.