Ilario Castagner has died: the memory of the A and the grief of Perugia

Italian soccer mourns the passing of Ilario Castagner

Italian soccer mourns the passing at age 82 of Ilario Castagner, former coach of Perugia, Lazio, Milan, Inter, Ascoli, Pescara and Pisa.

“Castagner wrote a historic page of Italian soccer with his Perugia, an unbeaten record carved among the achievements of Serie A,” recalls Lorenzo Casini, president of the Lega Serie A. “I express the condolences of the entire Lega Serie A for the passing of a symbolic character of our sport, a man never over the top, an example and teacher for many players and coaches.

This is Milan’s remembrance: “He was the coach of Milan, a true gentleman for all of Italian soccer. We are close to the family of Ilario Castagner in the time of mourning.” Milan pays tribute to Castagner, who passed away today at the age of 82.

A message from Perugia Mayor Andrea Romizi: “Today is a sad day for sport. And it is a very sad day for our city. With Ilario Castagner goes a legend of Italian soccer.”

“A coach who wrote the history of the sport, the creator of the Perugia dei Miracoli, the first coach to close a Serie A championship undefeated, but also the reference figure, fatherly and charismatic, always ready to run to the aid of ‘his’ Perugia, as on the occasion of the ride to the conquest of Serie A in 1998. In between were pages of great soccer, experienced, among others, on the benches of Inter and Milan. But Castagner’s passing leaves not only a sporting void. The human void is even greater. Ilario Castagner was a rare person, a gentleman from another era, a man with a heart of gold, loved by fans and players alike. A professional who embodied values that are increasingly rare in today’s soccer and whose name will forever remain inextricably linked to Perugia and Perugia.”