- Mattia Giani tragically died after collapsing on the pitch
- He was seen clutching his chest while shooting at goal.
- Tributes have arrived from top-class footballers and their loved ones.
Tributes have poured in for an Italian striker who fell dead at the age of 26 while shooting at goal during a match.
Castelfiorentino striker Mattia Giani was rushed to hospital after clutching his chest and collapsing seconds after taking a shot on goal in the 15th minute of a match at Lanciotto Campi in Tuscany on Sunday.
A club masseuse reportedly attempted to revive the player on the pitch, after his heart stopped beating for several minutes, before he was transferred to Careggi Hospital in Florence, where he died the following day.
Both the footballers and their families have poured out their hearts in tribute to the deceased player.
AS Roma’s Gianluca Mancini, whose sister is currently dating Giani’s brother Elia, dedicated his goal in the 2-1 Europa League win against AC Milan on Thursday to Giani, telling Sky Sports Italy:
‘My sister and Mattia’s family are suffering. The world around them has collapsed, but they will rise again. He wanted to dedicate this goal to him.”
Mancini was seen wearing a T-shirt that said in Italian: “Goodbye Mattia, forever with us.”
Castelfiorentino striker Mattia Giani (pictured) was rushed to hospital after clutching his chest and collapsing seconds after shooting on goal.
Giani’s girlfriend, Sofia Caruso (pictured, right), had moved in with him just two days before his death.
AS Roma’s Gianluca Mancini, whose sister is currently dating Giani’s brother Elia, dedicated his goal in the 2-1 Europa League win against AC Milan on Thursday.
Castelfiorentino coach Nico Scaridigli said of Giani: “Mattia was a wonderful guy. He had a wonderful girlfriend who loved him more than anything.
“From a sporting point of view, he was a good and fun footballer. He always had a coup de grâce. His career didn’t go as well as it deserved just because of muscle problems.
Giani’s girlfriend Sofia Caruso, who he had been living with for just two days before he died, revealed how they spent their last day together.
She said: ‘We woke up on Sunday. We talked and laughed: it was beautiful. Then Matti took the bag. I stay at home. Then his cell phone rang: it was a message from him, the last one.
‘He wrote to me: “Love, I left you the accreditation for the game in Giani’s name. I love you madly”. He always told me that he loved me madly and I loved him madly too.’
And he added: “We were thinking about getting married, we said we wanted to have children.” Mattia made me understand what love was and she took care of me. Matti was a pure and good person.
‘He always told me that she would never leave me alone. I will continue to love him forever. Now I feel like I have to move on for him.
Sofia said of her last day with her boyfriend: ‘We woke up on Sunday. We talked and laughed: it was beautiful’
Mancini was seen wearing a t-shirt that said in Italian: ‘Goodbye Mattia, forever with us’
‘I have to do it for his friends who have been calling me continuously for days. I, on the other hand, called him all morning but he didn’t answer me. I am speechless and without tears.’
Giani’s father, Sandro, for his part, filed a complaint to “understand how our son died,” since several disturbing details about his son’s death emerged.
According to Sandro, there was no doctor present on the bench at the time of the striker’s death.
Furthermore, the first ambulance arrived late and without a doctor. Only the doctor used a defibrillator and arrived minutes later in a second ambulance.
Italian prosecutors have since opened an investigation for manslaughter, after worrying details emerged about the club’s preparation.
Lanciotto has also been fined for not having adequate medical personnel available at the time of the medical incident.