CHELSEA fans unfurled a giant tifo in honour of Gianluca Vialli at a Legends match against Bayern Munich on Saturday night – while John Terry dedicated a surprise goal to the much-loved Italian great.
The game was being played in tribute of the former player-manager, who sadly died at the start of the year, and to raise funds for the Chelsea Foundation and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
ReutersChelsea fans unveiled a giant banner in honour of Gianluca Vialli at a Legends match in his honour[/caption]
AFPJohn Terry paid tribute to his former manager, pointing to the sky after he scored[/caption]
AFPVialli’s daughters, Olivia and Sofia, and wife Cathryn (right) were also at the game[/caption]
The likes of John Terry, Gianfranco Zola, Michael Essien and Claude Makelele were playing for Chelsea, with Vialli’s former team-mate – and Champions League winning manager – Roberto Di Matteo in the dugout.
A packed Stamford Bridge made their affection towards the Italian known before kick-off, as they unveiled a giant banner in his honour.
With the Italian flag in the background and a huge image of the striker, it read: “When his goals light the sky, there’s a tear in my eye.”
Chants of “Vialli, Vialli” also rang around the ground throughout the match, while it appeared Zola and Di Matteo were struggling to hold back tears as a tribute video played on the big screens.
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ReutersJohn Terry and other legends held a minute’s applause for Vialli[/caption]
ReutersTerry (centre) was congratulated by team-mates including Gary Cahill, Michael Essien and Ramires[/caption]
Vialli’s family – wife Cathryn and daughters Olivia and Sofia – were at the ground, with the Stamford Bridge crowd breaking out into a minute’s applause after Nessun Dorma blared around the ground.
Comedian Omid Djalili, a huge Chelsea fan, captured the applause at Stamford Bridge and posted it to social media.
With the ceremonies over, John Terry made an emotional gesture for the manager that handed him his Chelsea debut, after scoring a surprise goal.
Captain for the night, Terry burst forward played the ball into fellow Champions League winner Florent Malouda and slid to poke home – with the goal aptly coming in the 26th minute, Terry’s shirt number.
Terry pointed two fingers to the sky in honour of Chelsea legend Vialli, who won three trophies in west London – the 1997 FA Cup as a player and the 1998 League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup as a player-manager.
Earlier this year, in another tribute to the Italian – Terry revealed he used to run a bath and fetch coffee for Vialli when they played together.