RIP Gianluca

[tdmickey3]

Sad news, a great player and a genuinely nice man

Condolences to his family

[Toadhall Saint]

49 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Sad news, a great player and a genuinely nice man

Condolences to his family

Ditto

[whelk]

Very sad news. He was one of those players that you couldn’t help to like and respect. No age at all

[Winnersaint]

Very sad, too young. Always though he scored the first league goal at SMS but it was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and plus he was finished by 2000 anyway. Funny how memories play tricks. A very, very good player, up there with the best who've played in the Premier League.

[sadoldgit]

Souness’s comments brought a tear to my eye. It is always interesting to see tributes about people who achieved things, but to focus so much on what a great human being he was was truly touching. RIP

Edited 6 January, 2023 by sadoldgit
Sp

[Sunglasses Ron]

Sad news and a reminder of our mortality.

I saw him make his Chelsea debut at the Dell in 1996 (I think), which was Graeme Souness' first game in charge. To think he's no longer with us is a sobering thought as he was a fit, healthy young man then.  I can't believe that was nearly 30 years ago now.

He's one of the few away players I saw where there was some genuine awe from my side due to what he'd achieved in the game.  One of the others was Ruud Gullit a few years earlier (also with Chelsea).

RIP

[Turkish]

Really sad, no age at all. Met him once, smashing fella. 

[The Left Back]

Loved him as a player and heard very good things about him as a human. Very sad news.

He was one day older than me, so a(nother) good wake up call on the precarious nature of existence.

[Turkish]

4 hours ago, The Left Back said:

Loved him as a player and heard very good things about him as a human. Very sad news.

He was one day older than me, so a(nother) good wake up call on the precarious nature of existence.

As I said I met him once. I’ve met loads of famous people over the years but there was a warmth to him that is rare. I met him in corporate at a champions league game a few years back when my then boss was VP at Chelsea. We stood at the bar over a glass of red and talked all sorts, I felt like I’d known him 20 years  not like I was meeting a football legend for the first time. As we parted company he gave me a big hug and said how nice it was to talk. Genuinely had a tear in my eye when got the new today. 

[Whitey Grandad]

10 hours ago, Turkish said:

As I said I met him once. I’ve met loads of famous people over the years but there was a warmth to him that is rare. I met him in corporate at a champions league game a few years back when my then boss was VP at Chelsea. We stood at the bar over a glass of red and talked all sorts, I felt like I’d known him 20 years  not like I was meeting a football legend for the first time. As we parted company he gave me a big hug and said how nice it was to talk. Genuinely had a tear in my eye when got the new today. 

Great to hear.

[skintsaint]

How did I miss this!

Didn't he have a reputation as a heavy smoker? No surprise if so the big C got him.

Some good memories of the premier league (or premiership?) at Chelsea alongside Zola, Gullit i think and players such as Leboeuf.