JAKARTA - Today four years ago, Fiorentina captain Davide Astori was found dead in his hotel room. The 31-year-old player stayed at the Udine hotel ahead of the match against Udinese in Serie A.
“Fiorentina are deeply shaken and forced to announce their captain Davide Astori has passed away. For this dire and complicated situation, and especially out of respect for his family, we ask for the sensitivity of the media crew," said Fiorentina's official statement at the time, quoted by News Sky.
Meanwhile, a report from Corriere della Sera stated that Astori's death could have been avoided had he not been alone in the room where he died. The Corriere della Sera cites reports from two professors - Carlo Moreschi and Gaetano Thiene - which reveal the most likely reason for Astori's death.
According to them, Astori did not die of a heart attack. However, the captain's heart was beating so fast that it stopped due to a condition called tachyarrhythmia. The report also stated, Astori did not die in his sleep.
Tachyarrhymthmia is a rare condition. For Astori, he had never experienced it before. Moreschi and Thiene also said that Astori's life could have been saved had he not been alone in the room.
"The presence of other people is very meaningful because the emergence of the disease must have been detected," they said.
A few days after Astori died, Vitor Hugo took the captain's position in La Viola's back line. He said his teammates often 'see' and 'hear' Astori everywhere.
"He's always with us," Hugo told Football Italia. “We see and hear Astori everywhere; in the dressing room, on the pitch, in the dining area. He's always there."
“It's wonderful that everyone is talking about Astori. His locker was still there, like he was sitting in the dining room. When we watched the video to learn about our next opponent, the seat that had always been our seat was left empty. Davide is in me," he continued.
Hugo scored the only goal in Fiorentina's win over Benevento as they entered their first game since Astori's death. In addition to filling Astori's position, Hugo also wore the number 31 jersey, as opposed to the captain's number 13.
"He is an important reference for me. Astori is a reflection for me over the last few months. Since I arrived in Italy, she is the model I have tried to emulate," said the Brazilian.
Previously, Fiorentina were allowed to change the name of their training location to Centro Sportivo Davide Astori as a form of respect.
"We have made this decision (to change the training ground) because it is his home," Fiorentina president Mario Cognigni told Italian media Mediaset.
"He goes there every day for training and used to spend time there with his family too," continued Mario Cognigni.
Fiorentina and Cagliari retire Astori jersey numberTwo Italian clubs, Fiorentina and Cagliari, decided to retire the number 13 shirt that Astori used. This was done by both clubs as a form of respect for the dedication of a smiling and friendly figure when defending their club.
Astori played for Cagliari during the period 2008-2014 with a total of 174 caps. While with Fiorentina, Astori played from 2015-2018 with a total of 91 caps. He served as captain since the 2017-18 season replacing Gonzalo Rodriguez whose contract was not renewed by the club.
Astori started his football career at AC Milan in 2006, before moving to Cagliari and earning 174 caps during his six years playing in Sardinia.
In 2014, the defender was loaned to Roma and moved to Fiorentina a year later. In the Italian national team, he pocketed 14 caps.
With the retirement of Astori's number 13 jersey, the captain follows the names of other legends in Italian football whose jersey numbers have also been retired.
They are Paulo Maldini (number 3 at AC Milan), Diego Maradona (number 10 at Napoli), Roberto Baggio (number 10 at Brescia), Javier Zanetti (number 4 at Inter Milan), and Franco Baresi (number 6 at AC Milan). .
The respect for Astori doesn't end there. In the 13th minute in all matches for week 26 of Serie A, 2 and 3 April 2018. The number 13 is of course taken from Astori's jersey number when he defended Fiorentina and Cagliari earlier.
The players, coaches, and the audience applauded to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Astori's departure at the same time the match organizers displayed a photo of the player on the stadium's giant screen.
In the Atalanta match against Fiorentina, the players looked emotional. Former Fiorentina midfielder who is now in Atalanta's uniform, Josip Ilicic could not even hold back the tears.
Astori's teammate in the Italian national team in the uniform of Juventus, Giorgio Chiellini and his former Fiorentina teammate, Federico Bernardechi also looked very sad.
Since then, Fiorentina has always paid tribute to its captain. Including today.
Goodbye Il Capitano…
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