Summary of the Euro final: Italy beats England 2:3 in penalties and wins the tournament, after 1:1 at the end of 120 minutes (Sport1)
The human tendency is to praise and praise a person after his death, but Gianluca Vialli was loved by everyone even in his lifetime.
He didn't have to go to feel the great love, it was around him all his life mainly because he was the one who created it.
His achievements in his career are beautiful and impressive, but it is rare to come across a person who managed to conquer hearts in such a natural and sweeping way.
It is rare for the football world to part with a star, and most of the stories about him are not about the titles and victories but mostly about his smile, lightness and charisma, approach to life, laughter and simplicity.
The trophies always remain, but he knew that everything else was just as important.
"Sexy football," Vialy said when he moved to England, and was asked what he wanted to bring to the kingdom, a fitting definition of his being.
Because beyond the goal-scoring striker, there was a unique charm, a charm.
You loved him, without knowing why.
He will be remembered as an exciting player, and not because it was a goal he was aiming for, but something that just happened.
For those who were there, Viali is an icon of the football of the nineties.
In the great years of the powerful Italian teams, he was a bright spot.
So many images of him are engraved in my head, and he is always with sparkling eyes.
or a twinkle in the eye.
Whether he's celebrating Juventus winning the Champions League, while remaining in socks and underwear;
Whether he is at Sampdoria's championship celebrations with a "Europa" band wig;
Whether he runs after a defender and presses him or runs and celebrates a goal and waves his hands to the stands.
Always with a saucer in the eye, as if about to cry, an emotion that erupts.
Winner, virtuoso, human being.
Viali (Photo: GettyImages, Bongarts)
He knew how to appreciate every moment.
Viali (Photo: Reuters)
He will be remembered as one who took the game very seriously, but always with the right attitude.
He was determined in training, a fighter on the grass, played as a midfielder, as a winger, as a striker, did everything successfully, but also always knew how to put things in proportion.
"Don't believe anyone who says football is war," he once said, "It's a sport, it's a game you play with your friends."
He was an ideal interviewee.
Yes and directly.
At Sampdoria, for example, he told how he saw Roberto Mancini arguing with Trevor Francis in the dressing room.
He was going to separate them, "but then I realized that if they don't get along then they won't be able to play together, and that's good for me because I'll get more minutes."
Honesty, truth, humor, it conquers.
As a coach he was curious and diligent, loved to study and prepare for games, but also knew how to give the Chelsea players a glass of champagne in the dressing room before a final at Wembley.
Even in his last years as a commentator, his colleagues told about the professional way in which he would prepare for the broadcast, while at the same time driving them crazy with stretches and pinches.
"It's enough to be near him for 10-15 minutes, and you'll love him for the rest of your life," Graham Sones said about him this week.
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"The Exile Twins", in their old age (Photo: Reuters)
Viali and Mancini at the beginning of their journey (Photo: GettyImages)
He lives with this duality in peace.
Coach Viadin Bushkov, the "simple genius" who led Sampdoria to the historic championship, said of Viali that he "guards like a tiger, attacks like a lion and is sharper than a puma", but also told quite a bit about his life of debauchery, entertainment and models, drinking and cigarettes.
"Just make sure I don't see," the coach told him, and received the perfect version from Viali.
Viali himself also told in one of the seasons the secret to his scoring prowess.
"It's because I'm busy making love as much as possible," he said, "I'm in excellent shape. All summer I worked hard. Swimming, cycling, running, and I made love as much as I could. The only problem is that it's not good for my back."
Committed to "sexy football".
Viali (Photo: Reuters)
Those sparkling eyes shone even when a ball was raised to him in the box.
He also approached him with the same love and passion.
After all, it is not by chance that he will be remembered for his virtuosic goals, scissors, and acrobatic moves.
For such acrobatics, commitment is required.
It's an approach to the game, to life.
A striker knows this well: scissor kick is a risk.
The safer thing is to turn around and stop the ball.
But those who are committed to "sexy football" are willing to take a risk.
What are we here for, if not to create moments.
Such a moment was after the last Euro final, when the Italian team won the European Championship.
the hug
Luca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, the two who led Sampdoria to a historic championship in 1991, now coach Italy together and lift a trophy together.
Mancini the coach, Viali his assistant, but much more than that.
He was called "the brother of the actors".
The man who gives the extra, the unique spice.
In the first game of the tournament he was late and the bus almost left without him, then he didn't hesitate to make it a standing joke.
To release, to laugh, to lighten up.
Alessandro Florenzi, Italy's stopper, said after the win that "I know it will upset him, but it is important that everyone knows. Vialli is a special person, and without him this would not have happened, without him this victory would have no meaning. He taught us how to live."
Closing a circle: Viali and Mancini in the historic embrace
Another hug between Viali and Mancini
Viali with his back to penalties in the Euro final
Because in his last years, beyond his character and resume, he had cancer.
He realized he was on borrowed time.
"I realized that it's not worth wasting time and doing nonsense, do only what you love, what excites you, the rest is not... there is no time," he said, and described the battle: "I don't want to fight cancer because it's too big and too strong an opponent. I I feel like it's a journey. It's like traveling with an unwanted friend, and hoping that someday he'll get bored and leave before me."
He didn't give up and kept fighting.
At the same time he continued to participate in charity events, raised money, did what he could.
During his time in the national team, when Wieli felt ill, he did not say anything to Mancini because "I wanted to protect him".
In his last interview he already put aside football and said "I feel that I have less and less time to be a father".
After he left, Sampdoria's obituary managed to express the complexity of memory, what he left behind.
"We will not forget your 141 exiles," it was written in his memory, "but neither will we forget the barber's kicks, the cashmere shirts, the earrings, your platinum hair, the pilot's coat. You gave us so much, we gave you so much; yes , it was love, mutual, endless, we will continue to adore you forever. It is a love that will not die with you here today."
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Gianluca Viali
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