Marco Lanna, president of Italian side Sampdoria and former teammate of Gianluca Vialli, has offered his previous clubs a chance to play in a charity tournament in memory of their previous player and manager. Vialli, 58, sadly passed away in London on Thursday after a long-standing battle with cancer.
The Italian was fondly remembered by those at Chelsea for his time as a player, joining the club in 1996, scoring 21 goals in three-years. He then made the transition to managing the club in 1999, helping transform the Blues into the football side they have been in the decades since.
During his time in management, Vialli guided the team to the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Charity Shield. Since his passing, tributes have come flooding in from players and managers, past and present, to show their gratitude for the impact he left.
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As those tributes are made, current Sampdoria president Lanna has invited Vialli's former clubs to come together to leave a lasting impact in his memory. Speaking to Sky Sport, he said: "I want to organise a friendly tournament with Chelsea, Cremonese, Sampdoria and Juventus and donate the proceeds to charity. A 'Luca Vialli trophy' in which the proceeds would go to charity. He was a master at this.
“Sampdoria have always been in his heart. He would often call me to know how things were going and the internal dynamics. He always had a solid bond with this club.”
It remains to be seen if the charity event will go ahead and in which format, but the legacy of the legendary Italian could live on.
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