Sold out at Carlo Felice for the evening in memory of Vialli. Bucci: “A space named after Gianluca in the Levante Waterfront”

Genoa – Sold out at the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa for 'My name is Luca', the charity evening organized to celebrate the memory of the champion one year after his death and remember his fundraising activity in favor of research into ALS. Hundreds of people came, not just Sampdorian fans, to take part in the event, including guests Giuseppe Bergomi, Luca Marchegiani, Pep Guardiola via video link, numerous Blucerchiati players, from other teams and from the national team. Fedez is also on stage.

The world champion Giuseppe Bergomi revealed that Vialli came close to becoming the coach of the Italian national team after Giovanni Trapattoni in 2004. “An anecdote that ties me very closely to Gianluca is that he almost didn't become coach of the national team – Bergomi said – he had me called to pick him up secretly at Malpensa airport because he had to talk to me, 'you will be my second' he told me at the restaurant, then nothing happened afterwards.”

“They took him away from us too soon – said Bergomi – on these occasions I like to underline Gianluca's human qualities, which have changed over time, as a boy we played in a World Cup in 1986, a European Championship in 1988, the 1990 World Cup together, but afterwards he grew in his working life beyond football, Luca's sensitivity was incredible, during the period of his illness he still grew a lot and left us a lot, from simplicity to joviality, he left us an incredible void.”

“On the pitch with the national team he was fun, it was fun, but he has always been a perfectionist – he underlines – he always wanted to train before entering the pitch, after training we started doing sit-ups, he also dragged me along even though I was older than him, he always wanted to improve.”

“He was a fantastic footballer,” Marchegiani recalled, “he interpreted his role in a new and extremely modern way compared to the era in which he played, so I believe he is an unforgettable champion.”

Bucci: “A space named after Gianluca in the Levante Waterfront”

Genoa will remember Gianluca Vialli by soon dedicating a space to him in the area of ​​the new Eastern Waterfront. Mayor Marco Bucci announced it. “A great athlete and great man who lived for eight years in our Genoa, becoming its interpreter and ambassador. Thanks to the Vialli-Mauro Foundation, in a packed Carlo Felice theatre, a unique evening made up of spontaneous anecdotes and life stories”, he added .”It's a beautiful evening designed by a winner as Vialli always thought of him, a full room in Genoa with many friends and people who want to remember Gianluca with a smile on his lips, as he would have wanted, in the city of Genoa to which he gave very much”, underlines the president of the Liguria Region Giovanni Toti the importance of the benefit evening for the research organized in favor of the 'Vialli and Mauro Foundation'.

Mancini: “He had one last dream, to become president of Sampdoria”

''He had one last dream, that of becoming president of Sampdoria and I'm really sorry that he wasn't able to fulfill it''. And immediately a shower of applause from the audience of the Carlo Felice Theater. Thus Roberto Mancini, former Italy coach and current coach of the Saudi national team in video connection on the occasion of the “My name is Luca. Ballata per Vialli” event at the most important theater in Genoa to remember Gianluca Vialli in an evening with a charitable purpose. ''He leaves no legacy, because people like Luca never leave but always remain within us. Completing us wasn't difficult because we were completely different. We only argued once, over something stupid, which lasted a week and then stopped,'' said Mancini.

Guardiola: “He knew how to create football”

“When we were young we met in the Champions Cup final between Barcelona and Sampdoria and luckily Zubizarreta made great saves and we won the trophy. Then we found ourselves playing golf with his Foundation. We spent very beautiful moments together. In that final, the Barca coach was right to remove me…” jokingly says Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach who spoke via video link. “He was a typical Italian centre-forward, I always admired how he also did the defensive phase. I admired champions like Baggio, Totti, Del Piero, but Luca was really capable of creating football. The strength of Italian football has always been that of defending well and then having these champions in front like Vialli, capable of winning matches with extraordinary plays that were decisive'', added Guardiola.

Marchegiani: “His teaching: the most important match is always next Sunday”

“The most instinctive memory of Gialuca Vialli concerns football, in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup I played a match with him in the national team and I played very badly, he was the one who after the match told me a phrase that may seem to mean little, in reality for it was a lesson for me from then on in my career: 'next Sunday is the most important match because you have to know how to get up straight away'”. This is how Luca Marchegiani remembers Gianluca Vialli. “When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, the team suffers the goalkeeper's mistake, many limit themselves to a pat on the back, others even leave you alone, but he instead told me 'Sunday is the most important match because you have to know how to get up straight away', I have to say which is something I've always kept in mind, because in reality the important thing is not just knowing how to get up, it's knowing how to overcome the difficulties that arise, this is a memory I have of Gianluca.”