RIP Tottenham fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who died unexpectedly at the age of 61, as Harry Kane and Heung-min Son pays heartfelt respects to the ‘really special person’ who followed Antonio Conte to Spurs Tottenham stars Harry Kane and Heung-min Son have led passionate tributes to fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who died tragically at the age of 61.
The Italian joined Tottenham as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom staff in 2021.
On Thursday morning, Ventrone died unexpectedly of fulminant leukaemia.
“We are devastated to announce the death of fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone,” the Spurs said in a statement.
“As endearing as he was demanding on the field, Gian Piero quickly became a hugely popular figure among players and staff.”
“He will be greatly missed by everyone at the Club, and our hearts go out to his family and friends at this unbearably difficult time.”
The Naples native, nicknamed ‘The Marine’ because to his tough training, spent two seasons at Juventus, first from 1994 to 1999 and secondly from 2011 to 2004.
During his tenure with the Old Lady, he worked alongside Marcello Lippi and Carlo Ancelotti.
He subsequently moved to France to become the assistant manager of Ajaccio, while also spending time in China with Jiangsu Suning and Guangzhou Evergrande.
Ventrone was even a member of Lippi’s coaching staff for Italy’s World Cup-winning team in 2006.
Conte came knocking for his compatriot in late 2021, when he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the Spurs dugout.
The Tottenham squad held Ventrone in high regard, with Son Heung-min recently praising him following his hat-trick against Leicester.
Last month, the pair were pictured hugging after the 6-2 win over the Foxes.
The tributes to ‘a genuinely unique guy’ were led by South Korean international and teammate Kane.
“The world has lost a truly special person,” son wrote. Gian Piero, you helped me get through some difficult moments, and we shared some amazing experiences.
“I cannot express how grateful I am to you and how much I owe you. We will miss you terribly. Thank you so much, my friend. I am giving you and your family my heartfelt condolences.”
Ryan Sessegnon called Ventrone “an amazing person,” while summer signing Richarlison called him “an inspiration” despite his brief stint at the club.
“Since I’ve arrived at Tottenham, Gian has been a huge inspiration to me,” the Brazilian stated.
“He was always positive and always pushing us to our limits to become better,” Sessegnon said on Twitter. During this difficult moment, my thoughts and prayers are with his family and everyone who is close to Gian Piero. Prof., rest in peace.”
Son recently remarked of his Italian coach, “I have a really, really good relationship with Gian Piero.”
“Obviously, his English isn’t perfect; he’ll come in with his phone and translate into English from Italian.”
“It means a lot to me. Not so much in football as in life, but he provides me so much advise for which I am grateful.
He has been incredibly helpful, always giving me a big embrace in good times and bad, and he has always been next to me and every staff member.
“Even today, before we left the training ground, the hotel, we had a couple of minutes of having a nice conversation, which made me feel really comfortable and grateful.”
His funeral will be held in Naples on Sunday afternoon, according to reports.
Conte was scheduled to talk to the media on Thursday, but due to the news, he canceled his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s away encounter at Brighton.
