Gianluca Vialli, Attilio Lombardo’s tears.

Former teammate: “I will always carry his hugs with me.”

Former Sampdoria midfielder Attilio Lombardo in an interview with Telenord recalled with emotion former teammate Gianluca Vialli: “Generous person but also enlightening. Luca was special not only for us but for the whole Italian soccer, for the whole soccer movement also worldwide. Gianluca fought so much against his illness trying to hide his suffering.”

“The years at Samp marked my life and I will always carry with me Gianluca’s hugs, the ones on the field and the private ones. They were spontaneous and conveyed a sense of fraternity,” Lombardo said in a voice broken with emotion.

“Roberto Mancini on Dec. 28 went up to London to greet him in person because he was no longer responding to messages and Gianluca asked him ‘let’s call Attila,’ this was Gianluca’s last goodbye.”