Genoa – Kick-off at 9pm. The pitch is the Carlo Felice stage. Theater sold out for a few days already. In Genoa it is the evening of “My name is Luca. Ballad for Vialli”. Sports, art, music. Emotions. The champion who passed away on January 5, 2023 will be told in 360 degrees. From his former teammates, who shared his exploits. From the journalists, who reported his exploits. And by many artists, who admired him as a sportsman and as a man. All for Luca. And Luca for everyone.
The charity event, promoted by the “Vialli and Mauro Foundation”, organized with the patronage and support of the Liguria Region, it promises to be intense and spectacular. One of a kind. Massimo Mauro approaches the moment «with Gianluca in his heart. Always. The first time without my shoulder, I consider myself lucky to have shared so many moments with him and therefore to be able to bring out that feeling that we all have inside, that happiness of having met a boy like Luca, our Bomber.”
Vialli's family members are expected from London and Cremona. Many surprises. Some are gradually starting to leak out. As the participation via video link of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach who shared a passion for golf with the former centre-forward. “It's difficult to find a more charismatic person than Gianluca – Guardiola said a year ago – he was truly unique.”
The evening will be hosted by Ilaria D'Amico and Tommaso Labate and will develop along three lines that characterized Vialli's life: football, music and human relationships. Format and production of the show are by Elastica. Paolo Biamonte, author and head of the project, anticipates: «It will be an evening dedicated to Gianluca Vialli for the extraordinary nature of the champion and the man. As Mauro said: “Luca is celebrated, not commemorated”. We will tell about his career. There will be former teammates from Sampdoria who won the Scudetto and from Juventus with whom he won the Champions League. And there will be a moment dedicated to the English parenthesis with a one-man show by Paolo Di Canio who will make us relive a Vialli goal live. And we will talk about the national team, from the suffering of Italia '90 to the wonderful revenge at Wembley, where he lost the Champions League and then won the European Championship, ending with that wonderful embrace with Mancini.” Mancio, today coach of Saudi Arabia, who will connect via remote video.
Among former comrades, in addition to Sampdoria president Marco Lanna, there will be Pagliuca, Ivano Bonetti, Mannini, Invernizzi, Pari, Vierchowod. For the Sampdoria club, owner Matteo Manfredi, sporting director Andrea Mancini and coach Andrea Pirlo are expected. Among the former Juve players, there will be Ciro Ferrara and Pessotto. And then Buffon and Chiellini among Juventus and Azzurri memories. «Football – continues Biamonte – is not just schemes or VAR but myth, passion. Love for the team is the only one that lasts forever and we in the production team are all football fans too.” The evening will open with Paola Turci who will play the “Football Recruit of the class of '68”. Neri Marcoré will read the speech Vialli made to the Azzurri before the European final won at Wembley. Lots of English music, with Coldplay and Oasis, played by the Ballo Band. Fedez will bring to the stage his personal testimony of the moments shared with Vialli, who had helped him so much in dealing with the disease. Maestro Mario Brunello will set to music a goal by Vialli with the virtuosity of his cello. Dario Brunori, a great Juventus fan, will perform two songs. Lodo Guenzi will also sing on stage. There will be monologues by Marco D'Amore, Valerio Aprea and Paolo Nori.
Many voices from sport. From the former referee Pierluigi Collina, in a new guise. Fabio Caressa who, after reporting on Vialli's goals, worked together with Sky Sport once Gialnuca hung up his boots, will duet in a generational comparison between commentators with Bruno Pizzul, voice of many of Vialli's goals with the national team and above all with the Sampdoria “copetera” by Paolo Mantovani and Mister Vujadin Boskov. Again Biamonte, who is also the author of the Amadeus Sanremo Festival, jokes about it: «I promise you that we will make you go to bed earlier than Amadeus – he smiles – but it will certainly be an exciting and fun evening, as Vialli would have wanted».
Just as the bomber would have wanted the beneficial purpose that characterizes the event. Inspired by Tiger Woods, with the “Vialli and Mauro Foundation”, Gianluca has collected many resources over the years for research into ALS, the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which has affected many former footballers. This time the proceeds will be donated to support the “MOMALS: monitoring and multi-omics analysis of ALS” project of the NeMO Clinical Centers in Milan and Arenzano (GE), which aims to give a strong acceleration in the path of research and understanding of the molecular and progression of ALS over time
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