The first Italian project of the FC Futures programme has been launched in Turin, dedicated to Gianluca Vialli.
35 children were selected by the Municipality of Turin to take part in free training inside the Spazio Talent Soccer sports centre, on pitches named in memory of former Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea striker Vialli, who died aged 58 in January after battling pancreatic cancer.
EA FC ambassador Federico Chiesa was on hand to meet the children taking part, alongside Gianluca Pessotto, Football Team Staff Coordination Manager of Juventus, and James Salmon, Senior Director Brand of EA Sports and Pierluigi Pardo, the voice of Italian EA Sports FC 24.
“It’s fantastic to be here today, to see the impact of the FC Future investment in the program that we have been able to deliver and inaugurate in the memory of a really extraordinary man, Gianluca Vialli,” Salmon told 90min.
“This year we have seen him going into the game as an EA Sports FC hero for the first time. Millions of matches have been played with him in the virtual pitch and today we celebrate his legacy and extend that to a real one.
“We have been really privileged throughout the process to work closely with the Vialli family and in our discussions with them and the desire from the outset has always been not just to celebrate his memory in the virtual world, but also to celebrate his memory through investment and through support in community projects.
“Gianluca Vialli was someone who was incredibly passionate about access to sport, grassroots football and the communities and the clubs that he represented, and in working really closely with his family, with the Juventus Football club and with the municipality of Turin, this became a really amazing project that we were able to support through FC Futures investments.”
Training programmes developed in collaboration with UEFA are available in six different languages for children, with the two five-a-side pitches providing the possibility of doing weekly training sessions. Leading the virtual sessions are two legends of the men’s and women’s game, Gianfranco Zola and Patrizia Panico, and the latter said: “Being an ambassador is a pleasure, an hour and a privilege.
“I hope it is also an opportunity to see more girls playing football contributing to grow the women’s movement.”
Everything was made possible was the Vialli family, who were represented at the event by Gianluca’s nephew, Riccardo. He said of the desire to get involved: “For me it is an honour to be here today and the whole family is very proud of this project. We supported it from the first moment in which it was proposed to us.
“I believe I was the first to learn about it and I immediately shared it with the rest of the family with great enthusiasm. It is our duty to pass on what Luca taught us and try to support the most important projects that Luca would have liked. I am convinced that he is watching us from up there and is very happy to see all this.
“Luca was an example for everyone. Even during his illness, despite being tired, he always made sure he could continue to give example and to transmit calm and security to those around him.
“We are very proud of this and we can only pass on the teachings he left us. He always said that 20% of life is made up of what you think it happens and for the remaining 80, how you react. I always carry these words with me and they help me every day to face life with a different perspective.
On the support the Vialli family have received since Gianluca’s passing and how he would have felt seeing this event, Riccardo added: “All these tributes in memory of Luca are really meaningful and touching. We are really proud of him even though we have always been. Watching the love of Juventus and Chelsea towards him it’s really beyond words. I haven’t had the chance to go to Chelsea yet, however I will be there soon because I’d like to know better how they feel about him.
“Without any doubts. I believe he is watching us from up there and Luca is smiling and he is really happy about what we did with this project. In his heart he hopes to be a good example for these guys and if he watches these images, I am quite sure he is happy.”
Vialli also spoke on Gianluca’s legacy and standing at Chelsea – he was the first Italian player to come over to the Premier League in the mid-1990s and went on to manage the club to UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and FA Cup success during two years in charge.
“At the beginning I didn’t realise how important he was in Chelsea history because I didn’t have the chance to spend too much time in England but now I’m fully aware of what he did also in England,” he said. “He was an innovator, because he was the first Italian to go and play there, he was the first player-manager, and he also changed the way that football was perceived. If now I think about how much he is loved in England, I’m speechless.”
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