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Antonio Conte pays an emotional tribute to Gian Piero Ventrone after the Tottenham fitness coach’s death from leukemia aged 61, claiming he is ‘devastated by the pain’ before a show of respect during Brighton fixture
- Antonio Conte has paid tribute to Tottenham fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone
- The Italian passed away in Naples on Thursday after a short battle with leukemia
- Conte said he is ‘devastated by the pain’ of the sudden loss of the 61-year-old
- Tottenham showed respect to Ventrone during their game against Brighton
- Harry Kane pointed to the sky after giving his side the lead in the first half
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Antonio Conte has paid tribute to Tottenham fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone after his death last week.
The 61-year-old passed on Thursday in Naples after a short battle with leukemia.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Brighton v Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, Conte said he is ‘devastated by the pain’ of the death just two days on from the news breaking.
Antonio Conte (r) paid tribute to Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone (l) after his death
The 61-year-old passed away on Thursday in Naples after a short battle with leukemia
Tributes were paid before Tottenham’s Premier League game against Brighton this evening
‘To find words for Gian Piero is very difficult at this moment,’ said Conte.
‘We are really devastated by the pain of what happened. Also because no one expected this situation. But sometimes you know life is not always positive situations.
‘For this reason we have to cope in the best possible way because I know Gian Piero wanted to stay strong and continue to do our work in the way that he taught us.’
Conte has also confirmed he and his team will attend Vertrone’s funeral in Naples tomorrow.
Ventrone was nicknamed ‘The Marine’ for his punishing drills during his respected career
Ventrone joined Tottenham in November as part of Conte’s coaching staff and, via the club website, ‘became a hugely popular figure with players and staff’.
Tottenham honoured him before and during their game against Brighton this evening.
The players warmed up in t-shirts with the slogan ‘Always in our hearts – Gian Piero’ in both English and Italian.
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Conte said ‘to find words for Gian Piero is very difficult at this moment’ before the Brighton tie
Tottenham and Brighton players took part in a minute’s applause before the game on Saturday
Spurs captain Hugo Lloris paraded a shirt with ‘Giano Piero’ on in front of the away end
In addition, the two teams wore black armbands and there was a minute’s applause prior to kick-off.
Harry Kane pointed to the sky after giving Tottenham the lead in the first half, seemingly paying tribute to Ventrone.
At full time, captain Hugo Lloris paraded a shirt with ‘Gian Piero’ on in front of the away end, as fans sang ‘there’s only one Gian Piero’.
After the game, defender Ryan Sessegnon told Sky Sports: ‘We knew he had to perform today and obviously we wanted to win because of him, and thankfully we did that today.’
Further tributes are planned ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Spurs players warmed up in shirts dedicated to Ventrone before kick off at the Amex Stadium
The shirts on show read ‘Always in our hearts, Gian Piero’ in both English and Italian (above)
Harry Kane paid tribute to the fitness coach when he gave Tottenham the lead early on
The Italian, nicknamed The Marine for his punishing drills, was part of Italy’s coaching staff when they won the 2006 World Cup.
He also held roles at Juventus, Catania, Jiangsu Suning, Guangzhou Evergrande and AC Ajaccio.
His methods came back under the spotlight this summer when, during pre-season in Seoul, Ventrone’s trademark drill reduced Tottenham players to trembling physical wrecks.
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