The tribute to Gianluca Vialli from his Cremona: the shirt dedicated to the field and the mourning of the city

“Tomorrow, Monday 9 January, Gianluca Vialli will take the field with us”: Cremonese announced it, presenting the uniform in which their players will play against Hellas Verona in the match that will be played tomorrow at 6.30 pm at the Verona stadium Bentegodi.

The grey-red team will wear a special away shirtwith the image of the champion who died on January 6th and the writing “Ciao Luca” on the left sleeve.

For tomorrow, the day when Vialli’s funeral will be held privately in London, city mourning has also been proclaimed in Cremona with an ordinance signed by the mayor Gianluca Galimberti: throughout the day, civic flags on public buildings are to be displayed at half-mast as a sign of mourning and at 12 noon a minute’s silence will be observed in public offices and public institutions. In the ordinance, the mayor then invites citizens, social, cultural, commercial, productive organizations and the owners of public establishments and private businesses of all kinds to promote moments of silence, meditation and remembrance in the appropriate forms. And again tomorrow at 18.30 in the Cremona parish of Christ the King a memorial mass will be celebrated for the champion.

In the coming days the commemorative shirts prepared by the Cremonese will be put auctioned off for charity (the modalities will be announced shortly): the entire proceeds will be donated to the “Vialli and Mauro Foundation”commissioned by Vialli himself and his friend and former teammate Massimo Mauro to raise funds for the prevention and treatment of cancer and medical-scientific research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“Luca will be present in our hearts and on our shirt: his shirt – explains Cremonese in a note published on its website – The last time Vialli took the field at the Zini was during the centenary match, played on 24 March 2003. The uniform of that epic eleven, which in addition to him also fielded Cabrini, Lombardo, Beppe Favalli and Rampulla it was lilac white, the colors of the roots of our history”.

The bond between the grey-red club and Vialli – who had made his professional football debut playing for Cremona at the beginning of the 1980s – was also reaffirmed during the coach’s press conference Massimiliano Alvini on the eve of the match against Verona, which opened with a moment of reflection dedicated to the champion born in Cremona. “I like to remember Vialli as a man in love with life – said Alvini – His words, his stories, even his tears put only one thing in front of us: we must love life, despite everything. And this is the memory that leaves us”.

The Cremonese coach then guaranteed that “we will give everything to try and give him a win. He taught us never to give up, we will give everything for this too”.