Ennio Vitanza, a longtime figure in Italian sports journalism, has died

Italian sports journalism has lost one of its iconic figures: Ennio Vitanza, the legendary RAI commentator and host who, for decades, brought Italian and international soccer to millions of fans through his commentary and storytelling, died Monday in Milan at the age of 92.

Born on July 27, 1934, in Postumia—a city now located in Slovenia—and raised in Turin, Vitanza had developed a great passion for soccer from a young age. As a young man, he even managed to join Torino’s youth academy, but a serious knee injury prematurely ended his dream of a career on the field. It was precisely that incident that steered him toward journalism, a path he would successfully follow for over forty years.

He joined RAI in the late 1960s after passing a competitive exam for radio and television commentators, and soon became one of the most authoritative voices in sports reporting. As a correspondent, he covered the major Lombardy teams for many years, reporting on the exploits of Milan, Inter, and Atalanta, before definitively establishing himself as one of the iconic faces of public television’s sports programming.

His name is particularly associated with programs that defined an era, such as *Domenica Sprint*, *La Domenica Sportiva*, and *90° Minuto*. Vitanza helped bring to Italian households an elegant and measured style of soccer commentary, based on expertise and respect for his interviewees.

Throughout his career, he covered every World Cup from 1974 to 1990 and every European Championship from 1980 to 1988, providing firsthand accounts of some of the most important moments in soccer history. His interviews with legends such as Gianni Rivera, Diego Armando Maradona, and Pelé remain among the most memorable moments of his professional career.